Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in Their Games
by Assassin master ezio 91
Summary: A young sixteen year old finds himself thrust into the nightmare that is the Hunger Games. Twenty-four have been sent in; only one can come back out alive. He puts all his skills to use trying to stay alive. He plans to fight using his own rules; to overcome the odds stacked almost hopelessly against him, and survive.
1. Introducing Kai

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

First chapter of my Hunger Games OC story, part one of a series, hope you enjoy it, please give it a chance.

Just a note, the chapter titles are the names of the characters who is considered the POV character, the story is done in third person but with focus on one characters thoughts and through the filter of their views.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

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**Kai**

The forest was silent, save for the leaves rustling in the wind. However the wind was light, therefore, the rustling from the bushes did not come from the wind. A slight movement from the heavy grass responded to the bushes. Slowly the camouflaged figure lifted their head and looked out towards the bushes. The figure was male, lying prone but they slowly moved into a crouching position, still camouflaged. As the figure watched, from the bushes a hare emerged. Seeing his chance the young man took careful aim with his bow and fired; the arrow flew true and struck the hair, without damaging the pelt as it fell. Satisfied the figure left the heavy grass and approached the body. He carefully retrieved the arrow and examined the body carefully; satisfied he pulled out his skinning knife. He bowed his head and whispered.

"_Nia:wen._"

He then skinned the hare and took the pelt and meat, stashing it in his game bag. The figure then stood up, leaving the bones to be reclaimed by the forest. The young man was sixteen years old; out in the woods, wearing the improvised Ghillie suit he used as camouflage, he didn't really stand out, but back home, in District 12, he stood out more than anyone. In District 12 people had black hair and grey eyes if from the Seam or blonde hair and blue eyes if from the merchant side. Yet this young man had neither appearance, beneath the camouflage hat he wore, his hair was a tangled mane of silver while his eyes were lilac in colour. This appearance caused confusion and made people give him a wide berth, he was known as the freak of District 12, Kai Raithebone.

Kai sighed and shook his head; he had no time to think about his own problems, he had to deal with more important things than that. He lived alone with his mother in the Seam; the most poverty stricken part of the poorest district. They were at constant threat of dying of starvation; requiring Kai to put himself at further risk. At the age of twelve, Kai's name was written on a slip of paper and added to others, on Reaping Day, two names would be chosen, a boy and a girl, the two chosen would end up being forced to fight in the Hunger Games, a life or death struggle with a boy and girl from each district fighting to survive, there would only be one winner. Another slip with his name would be put in the pool on each of his birthday until he was either chosen, or he reached eighteen without being chosen, then all slips with his name on them would be taken out. However by taking out a tesserae Kai could get a meagre supply of items necessary for survival; in exchange for adding more slips with his name on them for each collection. At sixteen, taking only one tesserae a year Kai's name was in the pool ten times. However he soon found another way to provide for his family, still risky, but without the threat of the Games hanging over him. So, he started hunting in the woods outside the district for wild game.

He taught himself from scratch, using his seemingly innate gift for improvisation to make himself a bow, a quiver, several arrows, a skinning knife and his Ghillie suit. His hunting techniques he learned from a book about people who lived in what was now known as Panem, years ago. This was a confederacy of people known as the Iroquois; he taught and adapted himself to these techniques, this also taught him a strong respect for nature. He ensured his kills were clean, he took only what was needed and left the rest of the remains to be reclaimed by nature. He also thanked nature for each kill before skinning the carcass, using native Iroquois language. Once he claimed his kills he left the woods and moved through the District, selling his spare kills; usually for other necessities. He did most of his business at the Hob, a black market in the middle of the district. He had been fearful at first; as his hunting would be seen as poaching, a punishable offence, but the Peacekeepers, who also struggled to earn a living in District 12, turned a blind eye and even traded with Kai. Satisfied with the hare he claimed he noted the tracks that showed a lot of hares moved through here. So Kai set up some snares, hoping to catch more. He then continued hunting, searching for other game to hunt, skin and prepare. It did not take him long; he claimed a deer quickly followed by three foxes, another two deer, he claimed two more hares from his snares. His game bag was nearly full but it was getting late, it was Reaping Day, the Reaping was at two, he would need to head back, make his trades and get home in time to prepare, so he began to leave the woods.

However, as he was leaving he spotted some tracks and knelt down to examine them.

'_A cougar…could be the one I heard the Head Peacekeeper talking about.'_ He thought to himself. _'I've got room for one more.'_

He followed the tracks, wary, bow at the ready. He had followed the tracks for five minutes when he heard the growl. He instinctively ducked; the cougar sailed over his head and landed on its feet. Before it could recover Kai fired and killed it. He exhaled and hurried over, skinning it. Finally he returned to his stashing place and stored his weapons and Ghillie suit. He headed to the electric fence, inactive as usual. He ducked under it and headed back to the District, out on the forest, he felt alive, yet here he was nobody. This was the only time people treated him at least cordially. They usually ignored or ridiculed him about his unnatural appearance, or he heard them talk about him behind his back. When he had goods to trade however, that all changed. Sure enough he found himself doing his rounds and made good progress, getting what he needed. Once he was finished in the Hob, he only had one more stop before going home with what he didn't trade. The cougar he presented to the Head Peacekeeper, getting a decent reward for it. His last stop was the butcher shop; it was here he smiled, for he meant his only friend in District 12, Clay Langland. Clay was seventeen and from the merchant side of District 12.

He smiled when Kai stepped inside. "Hey Kai, how's it going?"

Kai shrugged. "Same old, same old."

He then stepped up to the counter.

It was then he saw the cuts of meat on the counter. Clay followed his gaze and smirked.

"Don't think about it Kai, you can't possibly afford those cuts." He remarked.

Kai laughed shortly. "Are you sure I can't convince you with a trade."

Clay waited while Kai made his offers; finally, after much haggling, they agreed on a price and made their exchanges. Finally Kai left and headed for home. After spending time hunting, breaking the law and spitting in the face of the Capitol, the tyrannical ruling city of Panem; he was now subject to their laws, the worst one of all, the death sentence, at least for the District 12 tributes, the Reaping.

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End of chapter, introducing the main character, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	2. A Mother's Fears

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 2 of my Hunger Games story, hope you enjoy it :)

**Reviews**

**Skoilr: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, I hope I don't disappoint, just to let you know, it might be a little slow starting, but I promise it will pick up, definitely when we get to the Games themselves.  
Smiles1998: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, here you go.  
C.B. Weasley: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

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**Ariel**

The thirty-nine year old woman sighed sadly as she finished washing the dishes. The cramped, dilapidated three roomed house in which she lived with her son was silent. She reflected sadly on her son.

'_Kai, has he come back from the woods yet?'_ She thought forlornly. _'It's like this every year, a week before Reaping day he disappears into the woods and doesn't come back until its time.'_

The woman was Ariel Raithebone, Kai's mother and only known living family member. She had no idea if Kai's father was still alive, Kai had been the result of a one night stand with a Peacekeeper; shortly after discovering she was pregnant Ariel found the man had left the District and she hadn't heard from him since. She had been shocked when Kai was born and grew up. Like so many now deceased members of their downtrodden family, after their fall from grace, she was born in the Seam and her appearance reflected that. Kai was the first family member in three generations to display the characteristic hair and eye colour of the Raithebone family. Yet he didn't even know that was why he looked so different, that was why people regarded him as a freak; he just didn't fit in, it saddened Ariel; it also worried her, her son could end up a real target of the oppressive Capitol.

Every day she faced that fear, that soon the Capitol would take notice and her son's life would be in danger. But then, her son's life was in danger anyway; today was always the worst day for her, the day she feared losing her son forever. She heard the front door open and turned in relief to face Kai who had just stepped in. She smiled, noting how much her son had grown over the years; he was now at least an inch taller than her and his hunting had given him a stronger build than the average Seam dweller.

"Kai." She approached him; worried.

He smiled lightly; he was used to this by now. "Mom, it's fine; nothing went wrong. Here, take a look."

He handed his bag over; she took it over to the table and examined its contents. She smiled when she saw what he had managed to gather.

She nodded and turned back to him. "Do you really think this is enough?"

Kai nodded. "Yes; I stayed out to get everything, got extra too…just in case."

Ariel sighed; Kai knew all about her worries; but did his best to appear cheerful, so as not to worry her further; but she saw through his act. She knew he was hurting, he couldn't understand why he looked…different, why he never fit in.

However he did seem happy now and she soon found out why.

"If what I've brought back isn't enough…and you need more supplies; here, this should cover it."

He then placed a small pouch on the table; Ariel checked it and gasped, inside was money, more than she'd ever had in the house. She looked up at her son and he noticed her expression; he shook his head.

"It's not what you think mom, it was payment…I, I hunted down and killed the cougar that's been menacing near the fence; took its pelt to the Head Peacekeeper here. He paid me for it."

Ariel gaped at him. "You hunted a cougar, as if you aren't at enough risk already."

Kai sighed. "I know mom, look I'm fine; it wasn't that dangerous…"

Ariel couldn't believe how dismissive her son was being to the almost constant danger. But before she could begin trying to explain Kai looked at the clock.

"It's getting close, I should go get ready."

Ariel saw he was right, the Reaping was at two o'clock, it was now quarter to one, given the distance they lived from the town square they needed to leave at half past one. Kai hurried off to get cleaned up while Ariel prepared herself. She prayed, as she was sure every mother did on Reaping day; that her child would not get picked. The trouble was, with ten names in the pool; her son had a good chance of being picked, not as many as others true, but still a good chance.

Finally, as she waited, Kai emerged, clad in his Reaping clothes. They were new, almost an extravagance given their income, but he had outgrown his former Reaping clothes, so it had been necessary. Ariel frowned as Kai fixed his shirt, looking in the cracked, stained mirror. Her eyes were on the tangled mash of his hair; silver like the Raithebone's of old; due to their inability to afford a trip to the barber, or even the proper tools to do it themselves, his hair had grown into a mane and become tangled and noted. Desperate to at least do something about it she stepped forwards; Kai gave a short start of surprise as she began attacking his hair with a wet comb. After a brief struggled Kai pulled away from her attempt to tame his hair.

"It's hopeless mom, you know it is." He told her; shaking his head.

Ariel sighed and put the comb down. "I know, I just thought…I hoped…"

Her son smiled and hugged her. "Don't worry about it…" Then, in a lower voice. "No matter what happens, I promise, everything will be alright."

Ariel wished that was true, but she wasn't so sure. But for her son's sake she returned the embrace and whispered. "I know Kai, I know."

They parted and Ariel looked carefully at her son, as she did every year, knowing it might be the last time she saw him; she noted that his lilac eyes held a hint of amethyst colour too; definitive of the Raithebone family. She wondered if her son inheriting the old genes was a sign and if so, of what, doom, or hope.

Finally it was time; they left the house and joined the other families, heading to the square for the Reaping. Everybody was required to attend, no exceptions except for those who were bedridden. Everybody looked lost Ariel noted; the children's faces held fear, or were simply blank, too far gone to feel fear. A few people said hello to her, but nobody paid her son any thought or word; it was like he was invisible. It was sad, but better than the alternative she supposed; if they weren't ignoring her son, they were bullying him. The worst was the Seam boy up ahead; taller than most; the only one not looking fearful, but frowning. Dylan Cosmos, he seemed to take special pleasure on bullying Kai, but despite this, Ariel only felt pity for him. It wasn't just due to Kai's appearance Dylan bullied him. It was jealousy too; Kai and Ariel had a close relationship, while Dylan's parents focused more on their younger children, giving him very little attention, if any. Kai pitied him too, after finding that out, but it didn't make the bullying any easier to deal with. They soon joined the people from the merchant side; Kai finally had someone talking to him, his only friend, Clay Langland. Ariel smiled; relieved that at least the butcher boy wasn't judgemental of her son in any way. They finally reached the town square, Ariel whispered goodbye to Kai and waited with the other parents, wondering fearfully if this was the year, she would be going home without her son.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	3. The Reaping

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 3 of my Hunger Games story, hope you enjoy it.

**Reviews**

**C.B. Weasley: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; glad you liked how I did it.  
Smiles1998: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

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**Aviva**

'_Another year.'_ The woman thought bitterly. _'Another Reaping, another chance for me to dress up two kids and send them to their deaths like lambs to the slaughter.'_

The whole hypocrisy of it all disgusted her; as a Victor of the Games she was the assigned Mentor of her District, which meant she was responsible for training the chosen tributes for their Games. Her victory had been a major upset as before the 64th Hunger Games District 12 had never won the Games, relying on a Capitol provided Mentor. The she came, Aviva Lawaway; instantly dismissed, given a low score, seen as one with no hope; a scrawny sixteen year old from the Seam. Almost at once opinions changed when, unlike so many before her, she did not charge blindly into the bloodbath but fled, grabbing only what was in reach. She survived and ended up the Victor. The following year, her first as Mentor, both District 12 tributes avoided the bloodbath but were killed on day one anyway by rather convenient traps. Now here she was at twenty-three, her life irreparably changed; the stress of everything she had witnessed had caused her black hair to go prematurely grey at the temples; there was also deep shadows under her eyes, the horrors of the Games meant she never slept anymore, until her body shut down and she passed out, then she recovered and the pattern continued.

Now here she was again, she had been the first District 12 Victor and so far, the last, it was now the 71st Hunger Games and there had been no more District 12 Victors. Apart from the suspicious deaths of the tributes for the 65th Games; all District 12 tributes after her had at least made it through day one and stayed away from the Bloodbath. The Reaping would be starting soon; it was time for her to make her appearance on the stage. The mayor of the District nodded to her and made his way up to the stage, she followed; silent and morose as ever. This put her in stark contrast to the other figure on the stage; Zinnia Carls, the District 12 escort, a rather colourful woman with curly bubble-gum pink hair and similar coloured eyes, achieved through contacts. Her dress sense could best be described as garish but at least she had one difference from the other Capitol people. She wasn't somebody older trying desperately to look younger, she really was only twenty-five. Aviva took her seat and scanned the crowd before her; the tributes, or unfortunate victims as she thought of them. All of them lost, some scared, others uncertain, arranged in age order with the eighteen year olds at the front, right back to the twelve year olds. The curious mixture of appearances, both sides of the District gathered together in one place, Reaping Day was the only time that really happened. Zinnia cleared her throat and stepped up to the microphone, Aviva knew it was time, soon she would know which two kids would be placing their lives in her hands. Which two people she would likely see dying this year, despite her best efforts.

Zinnia then spoke, her voice was clear yet marred, Aviva felt, by the ridiculous Capitol accent.

"Welcome all, to the Seventy-first Hunger Games." She paused briefly and smiled before continuing. "I am sure we are all ready to begin, I can just feel the excitement in the air."

Aviva rolled her eyes at that. _'Excitement, try tension.'_

"Now, let us begin."

With that Zinnia walked over to the bowl containing the names of the female tributes. She plucked the name out with an unnecessary flourish and returned to the microphone, Aviva waiting with baited breath, who would the first poor soul be?

Zinnia unfolded the paper and read the name. "Liora Jade."

Aviva watched with a sinking heart as the girl stepped forwards, near the back, thirteen years old, from the Seam; clearly afraid as she walked up to the stage and up the steps to stand next to Zinnia.

'_She's helpless, doesn't know how to fight, how to survive, I'll need to give her a lot of help.'_ Aviva thought sadly.

Zinnia then pulled out the second name, the male tribute, unfolded it and Aviva tensed, waiting for her torment to be complete.

"Kai Raithebone." Zinnia called out with her usual smile.

It was like a ripple ran through the crowd and Aviva soon saw why. The boy who emerged from the sixteen year olds couldn't look more different if he tried. His messy silver hair right away cast him as someone different. Aviva guessed this was the boy she had overheard being spoken about by several people. People who judged him for his different appearance, the one people regarded as the freak of District 12; how ironic that he was now one of the tributes representing them.

Aviva could not deny she was impressed; the boy showed no fear, if anything he was impassive. She wondered briefly how much of it was an act to try and intimidate other tributes. Finally he reached the stage and stood next to Zinnia; she smiled wider and announced.

"Our two tributes, Liora Jade and Kai Raithebone, now then, shake hands." They did so and Zinnia continued. "Excellent."

She began applauding but was the only one to do so and soon stopped. As the last announcements were being made Aviva regarded the tributes. While she had noted Liora's lack of skill; she had no intentions on giving up on her. After all, apart from being older during her Games, she had been no different.

Aviva thought quietly to herself. _'She still has a chance; I just need to make sure it's as big as possible…'_

Her thoughts then trailed off as she regarded Kai Raithebone; by now the tributes were being led inside to wait to say goodbye to their families. Aviva headed through, ready to head for the train.

'_A mysterious one that boy…Something about him…His appearance, I've heard of it before, but where?' _She pondered. _'Something tells me he'll require watching, but there is definitely skill there, he just might stand a chance.'_

She remained lost in thought as she was escorted to the train; once on board she headed immediately for the dining car. She sat down at the table, the food wouldn't be served until everyone was on board, but Aviva didn't care. She simply wanted time alone and she knew, until the train left, the dining car would be empty. Her thoughts began to turn towards plans and means to help her tributes, she wouldn't let them go down without a fight, of that she was certain. In the silence Aviva sighed and brought her hand up to gently touch the small silver ring on her left ring finger.

'_I will not fail again, not like this, not like I failed you…'_

She pushed the thoughts away, now wasn't the time to dwell on the past, she had to focus on the present and immediate future, for the sake of those now in her care.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	4. Dread

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 4 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Skoilr: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it and felt the tension and such, hope I still continue to evoke that. That would never have been possible anyway, the tributes are always chosen: one male, one female, between the ages of 12 and 18. But don't count Dylan or Clay out, they will reappear.  
Smiles1998: Thanks, well, given which finger it was on it should be obvious; but if not, just be patient, it will be brought up in Aviva's final chapter.  
C.B. Weasley: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

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**Liora**

It was like her worst nightmare came true; Liora Jade found herself trying desperately to hide her fear as she rode in the car to the train station, heading for the Capitol and the worst death sentence of all, the Hunger Games. She turned away from the window and looked over at her District partner; Kai Raithebone. She was ashamed to admit she knew nothing about him. She was one of those who had not paid any attention to him; even though he wasn't that hard to miss. She was surprised to see how impassive he was, it was like he wasn't even the least bit afraid. She felt she should say something, but nothing came to her. Finally they reached the station and she quickly schooled her features, she couldn't appear weak. They got out the car and headed towards the train, all on camera, for the entertainment of the Capitol citizens. I glanced at Kai again, he was acting as if the cameras weren't even there, I immediately diverted my gaze forwards again and we boarded the train. As soon as the doors clothes Zinnia Carls smiled widely.

"Well, you should both go freshen up, then come through to the dining car." She remarked, still as cheerful as ever. "You should find everything you need in your compartments."

She gestured to two doors on opposite ends of the carriage before walking down the train, likely to the dining car. Kai glanced at Liora nodded and entered one of the rooms, leaving Liora to do the same with the other.

When Liora stepped out of the room she had changed into the most casual outfit she could find. She wondered briefly if she should wait for Kai, but then thought that he might already be in the dining car. So she headed there immediately and found her hunch was right. Kai sat at the dining table, looking slightly dazed, no wonder, there was more food on the table than either of them would see in a month. Zinnia was seated at the top of table and opposite Kai was Aviva Lawaway. Liora suppressed a shudder, although she didn't like to admit it, she felt intimidating by the older woman. Something about her made her seem severe and unapproachable; as such she froze when Aviva looked up to her.

"Good, now we're all here." Aviva stated. "Come, sit down Liora."

Liora approached the table and sat, still nervous. Aviva gestured to the food.

"Go ahead and eat, Kai's already started, now eat up, enjoy, then we'll get talking."

Liora gazed at the food, wondering where to start. She saw Kai smirk out the corner of her eye before helping himself to a little more food.

Before eating it he spoke to her. "I'd personally recommend the dish in front of you, it's very good."

She looked at it, some kind of stew she didn't even know, let alone recognize. Still she tried it and found that Kai was right, it tasted excellent.

Finally, when they had finished eating, trying hard to keep it down, not used to such rich food, Aviva nodded to them. She put down the knife she was using to clean her nails, much to Zinnia's displeasure.

"Right…" Aviva began. "…As you know, I am your mentor, I am responsible for you, before and during the Games. I am your lifeline; you need me to organize your sponsors and everything else. So, first off, I'd like to know exactly who I'm working with…"

With that Zinnia stood up. "I have a few things to sort out; I'll leave you to your work."

With that she turned and left. Aviva then told them both to stand up, they did so and Aviva carefully examined them. Finally satisfied she sat down.

"So, pretty much what I expected." She stated with surprisingly little emotion. She then looked at Liora with an expression that appeared to be pitying. "Never wielded a weapon or had any survival training in your life, have you?"

Liora bowed her head and nodded; afraid she was already disappointing her mentor. Aviva sighed and pondered briefly before finally nodding.

"Well, that's what the Training Centre for, if you put it to good use; you'll learn all you need in no time at all." She remarked, something about her expression inspired confidence in Liora. "My advice, prioritize survival over weapons training, no point in being good at fighting if you get killed by exposure."

Liora nodded and Aviva then turned to Kai.

Aviva regarded Kai in silence for a moment and then finally spoke.

"You on the other hand, you seem to have the look of a survivor. You know the skills to survive in the wilds?"

Kai nodded and, unable to help himself, smiled proudly. Aviva frowned for a moment and then stood up again and approached Kai again.

"Show me your hands." She said immediately.

Confused Kai did so and Aviva examined his hands and nodded.

Finally she spoke again, letting go of his hands. "I see you are accustomed to wielding a bow and a knife."

Kai nodded again and Aviva smirked.

"Well; I think you've got a surprisingly good chance." She remarked. "So, listen up, we'll work out the finer details of our plan as the days go by. Right now, let me give you a key piece of advice. When the Games start, stay away from the Bloodbath, find somewhere safe and run there, grab only what's on route. Once safe, find water and from there; plan and make your moves carefully."

They both nodded; Liora was surprised by what Aviva had revealed. The mysterious boy from District 12, the one who stood out from his appearance yet was ignored or ridiculed by others; he was apparently a skilled hunter and perhaps an excellent tracker too. It was then suddenly the television in the corner flared to life. Liora jumped, Aviva turned her head.

"Well, it's time to see who we're up against."

They both turned to the TV, Liora watched, worried about the introductions of their opponents.

Liora watched as the Reapings were played; several of the tributes stuck out in her mind, especially the Careers; the tributes from Districts 1, 2 and 4. The ones who trained their whole lives for the Games and were considered the deadliest. From District 1, known for its unnaturally beautiful people did not disappoint. The girl was seventeen, the boy a year older, both with incredible good looks, the girl had waist length shiny brown hair and brown eyes, the boy's hair was short, blonde and immaculate, his eyes were blue. District 2 had a strong looking seventeen year old boy and a similarly frightening fourteen old girl; both with dark hair and eyes. The fifteen year old girl from District 4 was also clearly strong; she had shoulder length brown hair and hazel eyes that glared out sullenly at the camera. The boy however was fourteen, with short red hair and green eyes and actually looked uncertain, unusual for a Career. The Careers were not the only ones who stood out however. The boy and girl from District 7 were a pair of seventeen year old twins, the boy from District 10, only fourteen, looked even more terrified than Liora had been, she also noticed his left arm was distinctly shorter and more withered than his right arm, he was crippled. District 11's tributes were complete opposites of each other; a tall strong eighteen year old male, and a shorter wiry fourteen year old female. Both had dark hair and eyes and dark skin; both also did their best to hide whatever fear they had behind a veil of indifference.

Finally District 12 was shown and Liora was relieved to see she didn't look as scared as she thought she had. Aviva turned back to them.

"Well; this should help, I'll get to work forming our plans, first step however, you'll be given to your prep teams and then to your stylists." She paused and then added. "I hear we've got a new stylist this year, from what I hear he's a bit…eccentric, but brilliant. So go along with him, okay, whoever gets him."

They both nodded and then Zinnia finally returned.

"I'm glad I got back just in time." She remarked airily. "Come, come, quickly, both of you need to get ready at once, we're almost at the Capitol."

With that they found themselves bustled away and before long the train had stopped and they stepped out, into the Capitol.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, next up we'll be returning to Kai's POV. Read and review please :)


	5. Meeting Orion

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 5 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy. Sorry for the late update, had a doctor's appointment, nothing serious.

Okay, brief note, due to difficulties involving my previous style of narration I've changed it to complete third person, not too big a difference really, but enough worth mentioning. This also meant changing the titles of the previous chapters however, just so you understand, thanks.

**Reviews**

**Skoilr: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, it's alright; although I think accusation is a bit of strong word to use, suggestion or thought sounds closer. Anyway, I'm afraid I can't say anything, spoilers, but I'm sure you won't be disappointed with what happens.  
Smiles 1998: What do you mean, the appearance of the ring or what exactly? Anyway, glad you liked it, well, that's next chapter, them, and the rest of the tributes.  
C.B. Weasley: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Meeting Orion**

Kai grimaced as another waxing strip was ripped off his leg, taking a vast quantity of hair with it. He was in the prep centre, where his prep team were at work. They were three people who looked like his worst nightmare of Capitol citizens, hair, eyes and lips in bright primary colours; way too much make up and cosmetic surgery and those irritating Capitol accents. Their job was to prepare him for his stylist; this included scrubbing him down, waxing almost all the hair from his body, the latest strip being the last one. They scrubbed him down again, this time with some strange lotion which stung and then caused his skin to tingle. Finally, once he was allowed to pull his robe back on, they performed a miracle; they managed to untangle his silver mane and get it all straight. Finally its true length could be seen as it hung down to between his shoulder blades. They tutted and got to work and finally stepped back and Kai stared in shock at the mirror. He barely recognized himself, he was cleaner than he had ever been in his life and his hair was now cut short, that was the bit that surprised him the most. He thought that tangled dirty mess would be impossible to fix. One of the women, the one who seemed to be the head of prep team spoke with what was supposed to be a sympathetic smile.

"I know; it's a shame we had to cut your hair as short as that." She said. "Such a lovely colour."

Kai rolled his eyes; back home he was regarded as a freak, yet the thing that made him so was viewed positively here as something to be proud of.

He was annoyed by the frivolity and hypocrisy that was rampant in the Capitol; he'd rather be a lonely freak in somewhere normal like District 12, than be accepted by over-the-top people who got pleasure in watching twenty-four teenagers fight to the death every year. He sat waiting while his prep team left to inform his stylist that he was ready. Kai sat back in the seat, and let out a slow breath. He wondered what his stylist would be like; according to Aviva there would be two, one for each of them, a male and female. They were both new stylists and from what she had told them, both were very skilled and intelligent, although the man appeared to be a little eccentric.

'_So long as he doesn't look anything like my damn prep team…I'll be fine with that.'_ He thought to himself; trying to keep calm as he realized his anger was building.

The door opened and Kai stood up; he then saw his stylist and realized he had got the male stylist. The man didn't look eccentric, in fact, he looked relatively normal, around twenty-two, with short black hair and dark brown eyes. His one concession to Capitol fashion is a single gaudy ring on his left index finger. Seeing Kai's gaze drawn to it the man smiled.

"A family heirloom." He explained before introducing himself. "Orion Riles; a pleasure to meet you."

He held out his hand and Kai shook it.

Orion gestured to a set of chairs on either side of a small table. They sat down on opposite sides and Orion set a sketchbook, as well as a sheet of paper and a few pens on the table. Finally he smiled and nodded.

"So Kai, as I'm sure you're aware, when it comes to the parade you have to do something to represent your district."

Kai nodded, without any enthusiasm, District 12 was the coal mining district.

Kai sighed. "Let me guess, miner's outfits."

Orion looked shocked. "Hardly." He replied, his tone surprisingly sharp. "That is overdone; I have a different plan; coal burns, so fire shall be our medium. Here in the Capitol we use artificial fire for things like that…we also have a strong understanding of symbolism. But we need a symbol that will ensure you are unforgettable."

Kai watched as Orion's expression became more animated as he spoke. Surprised Kai found his gaze being drawn to the sketchbook; he must've looked curious as Orion noticed and smiled.

"My designs, all of them are things I'd like to work on, unfortunately I rarely find time, it involves various works, engineering, anatomy, sculpture, painting and such."

Kai smiled. "To do all that you'd have to be a hundred men in one."

Orion sighed. "If only that were possible."

It was then Kai got the impression that Orion wasn't eccentric, just tormented by the countless ideas rushing around within him.

Orion then collected himself and got down to work, taking Kai's measurements and jotting them down on the sheet of paper. Kai counted himself fortunate he could read upside down as he noted the sheet of paper. His name was written at the top, below that was his measurements and notes at the bottom. The note, Kai saw, was what looked like an unfinished and unusual equation. It read coal, an equals sign, fire, another equals sign and then a question mark. Orion began to speak.

"Okay, we need this to be memorable…They all have to see you, to know your name, and your District partner, you'll be in complimentary costumes after all." He paused and then sighed. "I don't want things to be too obvious, symbolism is important, the question is; what is our symbol…?"

He trailed off; Kai looked down at the sheet again. He knew Orion's question was rhetorical but he couldn't help but try and think up an answer. However when he looked up at Orion's face he saw his expression had changed. He was staring intently, wide-eyed at something on the sheet. Kai followed his gaze and saw that Orion was looking at his second name, Raithebone; Kai looked up confused, why would his name mean anything. However Orion seemed to reach some sort of conclusion; he smiled and picked up his pen, crossed out the question mark and then wrote one word, rebirth. Finally preparations were made for them to head down and join the other tributes for the parade.

Kai and Liora stood next to the chariot that they would be occupying. All twelve chariots were pulled by two horses, so well trained they needed no guidance. They were clad in black full length bodysuits with white, ash like sections on the back and shoulders. Attached to their backs were harnesses with frames that resembled the skeleton of a bird. The artificial fire was ready but would only flare into life when a control button was pressed. This button was strapped to Kai's wrist, he was told when to press it and it would activate both their costumes. They got in the chariots and Kai nodded to Liora, she gripped the side of the chariot to calm herself and as the Capitol anthem played the chariots were led out, one by one, by District number, theirs was the last to leave and when they left they could hear the crowd, cheering for their favourites, nobody even mentioned District 12.

'_Well, let's see if this changes their tune.'_ Kai thought to himself. _'Wait till we pass the third pair of drummers then go.'_

He repeated the instructions to himself in his head as they reached the third pair, as they passed Kai pressed the button and activated the costumes. The flames came to life and filled in the skeletons of the harnesses. The flames took shape of a bird and finally Kai understood the symbolism. A fiery bird rising from the ashes, a Phoenix, the symbol of rebirth, the Capitol people understood the symbolism too and soon they were cheering, calling out for District 12 and their names. Soon they all stopped at the City Circle, above them, on a podium on the above balcony, stood Panem's President; Sol Lucrum.

Sol Lucrum was sixty-eight; Kai had seen him on TV broadcasts from previous Hunger Games. But the broadcasts fell short, they conveyed nothing of the power the old man still had, his slicked back white hair served only to highlight the severeness of his face; it was further emphasized by the yellowish-brown hawk like eyes. He wore a dark suit, cut to factor in in his broad shoulders and despite his old age, seemed to still have the fitness of a man in his prime. He stepped up to the podium and raised a hand, silence fell.

"Welcome tributes." He called out in a clear, deep voice, again unexpected from his age. "Welcome to the seventy-first annual Hunger Games. We all look forward to seeing you all in action; we wait in anticipation to see who will be crowned Victor and bring glory to their District. May the odds, be ever in your favour!"

Just like that it was done, his speech was short, simple and to the point. Yet it resonate with power, it was a reminder that he truly controlled their fates, one word from him and a tribute could find themselves in a death trap and it would be all over for them. With the speech done the horses turned and pulled the chariots back. Once back inside the flames were extinguished and the harnesses removed and finally, Kai and Liora dismounted the chariot, feeling like their legs had gone numb. But there was no time to dwell, for they soon found themselves being ushered to their new quarters and from there, they would be going to the training centre, which meant one thing, time to face the other tributes they had upstaged.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	6. Making New Friends

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 6 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Skoilr: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, the significance of Kai's last name will be revealed later :)  
Smiles1998: Okay, now I'm even more confused, clearance?  
C.B. Weasley: Glad you enjoyed it, however as I mentioned in the last chapter, it's now a full third person POV.  
Wolfgirl77769: Welcome back, missed you; glad you are enjoying it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Making New Friends**

The moment Kai and Liora entered the main room of their floor; they found Zinnia and Aviva waiting for them. Aviva motioned for them to sit down and they did, enjoying breakfast, knowing that before long, food would be a luxury. As they ate Aviva began explaining their plans for the training centre.

"Okay, I need to ask, do you have any…special talents." She asked.

Kai nodded but before he said anything Aviva held her hand up and continued to speak. "Hide it; don't show it off during training. Wait until your private sessions, until then, just do whatever you can…find allies; things will go easier if you form alliances. Just be careful; don't draw too much attention, especially from the Careers."

They both nodded and, once they had finished their breakfast they headed to the elevator and rode down to the training centre. Once they entered they saw the other tributes all gathered in front of the trainers; they hurried over and joined them. Kai noted that they were being shot some nasty glares from some of the tributes; particularly the District 1 girl who gave him an extremely venomous glare. Other tributes however looked at them in awe; Kai saw Liora had also noticed these looks and shook his head, indicated she should focus. She did so and they all watched as the young dark haired woman stepped forwards.

The woman observed them carefully and then began to speak.

"Welcome all of you; I am Aurora, the head trainer here. It's my job and the job of my fellow trainers to see that you all receive fair training and I assure you, by the time I'm done, you'll all be going into the arena with chances of victory." She paused and then added. "Remember; don't underestimate the importance of survival stations. After all, what is the point of being good with a weapon, if you don't know what you're eating is poisonous or not."

Kai suppressed a smirk; he knew what was going to happen, Aviva had warned them to expect it. After a few more pointers Aurora allowed them to get to work. Immediately the Careers headed for the weapons stations; grabbed the fiercest weapons and got to work training with them, attempting to intimidate the other tributes. Trying not to pay attention to them, Liora got to work, getting help from the trainers in various stations. Kai worked by himself, working at various stations. While not revealing his secret talent, he impressed a lot of people who were watching with his skills at archery and with throwing knives. He also excelled in snares and traps and other survival stations, including identifying poisonous and non-poisonous plants, as well as ones which were edible and not. The training started at ten, they had a break for lunch and then worked until dinner time when they returned to their floor for the rest of the day. While working they were also assessing the other tributes and see if any were worth allying with.

It was lunch time on the third and last day; shortly after lunch they would have their private sessions to determine their training score. Kai was sitting, eating, thinking carefully about his plans for his private session when he sensed someone near him. He looked up and saw it was the twins from District 7. The male smiled at him and held out his hand.

"Birch Aspen, District 7." He introduced himself, gesturing with his other hand to the girl. "My sister, Cassia."

Kai nodded and shook the Birch's hand and then Cassia's. "Kai Raithebone, District 12."

Cassia glanced up towards the balcony above the training centre. "Freaky how they watch us, even when we're eating."

Kai followed her gaze to where the Gamemakers sat; watching everything that was going on in the training centre. A few were talking, comparing notes. One however was watching the tributes intently. It was the Head Gamemaker; a thirty year old woman called Leila. She was clad in typical Gamemaker uniform, however she stood out from the others; her hair was cut to her shoulders, purple in colour, her eyes were also the same colour. However unlike Kai, her unnatural eye colour was due to contacts. She also had an unsettling personal habit of blinking only once at four second intervals. Kai shook his head and turned back to Aspen siblings, fighting not to shudder at the thought of how unsettling he found the woman.

As they sat, eating together; Kai reflected once more on the other tributes, particularly the District 1 girl who was still glaring at him. He remembered when he first met her and her District partner. They were waiting to get in the elevator before the tribute parade with their mentor; thirty-four year old Poppy McCoy and their stylist, twenty-three year old Gemma Youth. Both had typical District 1 looks, unnatural beauty and also stuck up attitudes. It was the girl had shown her disdain for District 12, referring to them, memorably Kai thought, as 'Coal Brats'.

"Kai?" He turned and saw Birch addressing him. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Sorry, lost in thought, I was wondering about the other tributes…them in particular."

He gestured discreetly to the Careers. Birch and Cassia nodded and then helpfully revealed what they had found out, their names. Now Kai knew who to avoid direct confrontation with.

Cassia discreetly directed to the District 4 tributes first. "That's Janela Maxwell; she's pretty strong, I'd hate to fight her. Seems the boy, Caspar Till, however, didn't want to be a Career."

Kai nodded. "Interesting, might be something that can be used against him."

"Yeah, just watch out for District 2; Chase Winter and Alazne Barca." Birch added. "They're strong and very dangerous. So is Asher Longhand…District 1, the guy."

Kai nodded in understanding before gesturing again to the District 1 girl. "What about her?"

"The worst of the lot, the most dangerous, the most blood-thirsty…Citlali Tate."

Kai saw her glare again and knew they were right, this girl, Citlali Tate, was the big danger of these Games.

Kai smiled; he was beginning to like the Aspen siblings; they were definitely people he would form an alliance with. He also noticed Liora was talking to the two from District 11 and the boy from District 10 with the crippled arm. A little later, when Liora re-joined him he asked about them. As he thought she was interested in forming an alliance with them and also learned their names; the boy from District 10 was called Joyic, the two from District 11 were called Galatea Elore and Dashiell Williams. Kai could tell Dashiell was a strong one and felt he would be a good ally. Based on what he saw in the training centre, he was impressed with Galatea too, despite her young age and small build. Privately Kai felt Joyic would be a liability in the Games, but that only made Kai want to protect him. Soon they were sitting waiting as they were called in, one after another, into the training centre where they would have their private sessions with the Gamemakers. Kai had made preparations beforehand, stashing what he needed and hiding it so it wouldn't be used beforehand. Soon it was his turn; he entered the training centre and found the Gamemakers in their seats. They were clearly getting bored, likely due to having to sit through all the tributes so far. Only Leila remained alert and focused; still blinking only once every four seconds. Leila nodded as he entered and walked to the centre of the room.

"District 12, Kai Raithebone…You may begin."

Kai nodded and began to work.

Soon the boredom disappeared and Kai heard them murmuring as he worked. He paid them no attention and focused on his work; he took the shell of the jungle fruit he had hollowed out earlier in the day, he then filled it with the flammable powder he had made from materials from the survival stations. Once it was half full he filled the rest with coal dust and sealed the hole with a vine that also acted as a fuse. This was just a taster of what he could do, but he knew it would work, keep them guessing. Once he was done he set the device on the nearby table and got to work; using camouflage paints he set markers on the floor and around one of the he set up several training dummies. He then picked up the device and stood at the other marker he had made. He saw all the Gamemakers watching him; took a deep breath and used the flint to light the fuse. The fuse lit and as it burned Kai threw it with all his might; the device landed in the middle of the dummies. The fuse burned down and ignited the powder and with a tremendous bang exploded, knocking the dummies over, sending some flying back. Kai smirked as he noticed some of the Gamemakers jump in shock; even Leila was so shocked she forgot to blink. His special talent, improvisation, he could make weapons out of almost anything, his favourite being makeshift bombs which he used while hunting to flush out hiding prey. He turned to the Gamemakers and clarified.

"That one would have been non-lethal."

Finally Leila raised her hand in a gesture stating he was dismissed. Kai left the room, feelings satisfied that he had impressed them, but he knew his score wouldn't be that high, District 12's scores never were, the highest they ever got was seven.

Back in the apartment on the twelfth floor Kai, Liora, Aviva, Zinnia and Orion all sat watching as the training scores were advertised on TV. Scores were always out of twelve, with twelve being the highest and nearly impossible to get, one being the lowest. As expected the Career's scores were high, Caspar scored an 8, Asher, Chase, Alazne and Janela scored 9, Citlali scored 10. Birch and Cassia scored seven each, as did Galatea and Liora, much to our surprise; she must've impressed the Gamemakers. Dashiell also scored a 9; the other tributes scored variously 4, 5 and 6, so far nobody had sunk below that. Now it was time for Kai's score to be revealed. That was the biggest shock; he beat everybody in score, scoring an 11. The others all gasped and began cheering him; Aviva even cracked a rare smile. Kai smiled back.

'_Citlali won't be happy with that, I've outshone her again.'_ He thought to himself; then, as a strange feeling of dread gripped his heart. _'I feel however, that someone…else, might not be happy either.'_

He just prayed that this thought didn't amount to anything.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, Kai has now demonstrated his ability at creating improvised weapons, in this case, makeshift bombs, next up, the interviews and a private meeting between the Head Gamemaker and the President. Anyway, read and review please :)


	7. Dangers of Hope

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 7 of my Hunger Games story enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Skoilr: Okay, fair enough, thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, like you said, only the training happened, the important point of that chapter was to introduce the other major tributes.  
Smiles1998: Well, what is you wanted to know about it, PM me and ask, glad you enjoyed it.  
C.B. Weasley: Yeah, I suppose so, anyway, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Dangers of Hope**

President Sol Lucrum was dressed in clothes nobody expected the all-powerful president of Panem would wear. Plain trousers and shirt and gardening overalls, attached to the front of the overalls was a belt with tools attached. He was currently in the large vineyards near the back of the large gardens of the Presidential Palace. He was checking the grapes that were growing well. He plucked one grape from its vine and gently squashed it, the juice confirmed his thoughts and he smiled lightly, popping the squashed grape in his mouth and confirmed its ripeness too.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. President."

He turned and found Leila standing there; even he found her strange habit unnerving.

He nodded. "Ah yes, Leila, come, let us walk."

He put the secateurs back in his belt and they walked towards the edge of the vineyards.

Leila raised an eyebrow towards the President. "I never expected to see you working in a vineyard; I thought you had servants for this kind of thing."

Lucrum gave a short chuckle and explained. "You caught me indulging in a guilty pleasure."

Leila nodded slowly. "So, that wine that was served during last year's victory parade, it came from your vineyards."

Lucrum nodded.

"Yes, what did you think of it?" He asked.

Leila pondered briefly before answering.

"It was rather strong…fruity."

Lucrum nodded. "I see, I thought so myself, I'm glad you were honest, unlike the other people I deal with…only telling me what they think I want to hear."

Leila sighed; knowing there was no time to waste, she had to find out why she was called here.

She knew this wasn't some social call; he had called her out to meet him the morning after the training scores were released, something had clearly been met with his displeasure.

"May I ask, Mr. President, why you called me here?" She questioned finally. "I know you didn't call me here just to talk about wine and grapes from your vineyards."

President Lucrum nodded and cleared his throat.

"The boy from District 12, Kai…" She nodded and he continued. "An eleven, why?"

Leila sighed, so that's what this was about. "He showed remarkable aptitude, he has some…unique skills; he has a real chance in the arena."

Lucrum shook his head. "He shouldn't…The Games are to serve as punishment for the Rebellion…And District 12 should receive the harshest punishment. They were District 13's closest allies and harboured the former Presidential family and their closest allies after the war was over."

Leila nodded in understanding. "As such, District 12 faces almost insurmountable odds; death-traps, low scores, little sponsors."

Lucrum nodded. "Correct, it keeps them locked in despair and prevents them from ever gaining the hope necessary to rise up against me again." He paused and then glared darkly at Leila. "Yet you gave him and eleven and gave him hope."

Most would be panicking now, but not Leila; she already saw a way out.

"I say we let it lie, Mr. President." She remarked. "Then we give him…problems in the arena, especially from the Careers, they're not happy about his score, they'll seek him out and kill him."

"So we let him keep that hope, possibly lighting a spark that could burn us all?"

Leila sighed; obviously she would need to give more of an explanation.

She cleared her throat and then explained.

"Let him hope, that way, he will become overconfident. We can then force him into our traps, or into the Careers…If by some chance he escapes them, even wins, he will be…ruined." She paused and added with relish. "Nobody comes out of the Games unscathed after all…I believe you may make use of him if he does win, turning his hope into despair."

Lucrum nodded slowly, finally realizing what she meant. "We let him have hope and it will lead to his despair."

Leila nodded. "Yes sir…I believe the analogy is; the higher up it is dropped from, the worse the crash will be. Hope is the best spice to draw out despair."

Lucrum narrowed his eyes. "An unfortunate analogy Leila…It could refer to this boy…or me and the system."

"Or both." Leila remarked; before turning to leave.

It was then Lucrum remembered something. "Leila, I've been too busy to get all the information…This boy, Kai, what's his full name?"  
"Kai Raithebone."

With that she was gone. Lucrum was shocked by what she had revealed.

"Raithebone." He breathed; before retreating into his thoughts as he walked back to his vineyards. _'So, they survived the purge, is this boy the last…or are there others? From District 12, so they integrated into that insignificant District's society, that's how they survived, yet he looks like his predecessors.'_

He shook his head; no matter what happened, win or lose; he knew Kai Raithebone would not be the one to destroy everything Lucrum had worked for all these years.

In their apartment Kai and Liora sat opposite Aviva as she was coaching them about the upcoming interviews.

"Okay, you guys need to make a good impression; everybody will be watching; if they like you…it makes getting sponsors a little easier. Doesn't mean it will be easier, just…less of an uphill struggle." She paused and then turned to Kai. "They'll likely ask about your high score, keep it mysterious."

Kai nodded and then Zinnia arrived to take Liora for private coaching for the interview. After she left Kai lingered for a moment. Aviva noticed and turned to him.

"Something wrong?"

Kai shook his head. "I just…I don't know what I'll be facing, but…if I have a chance to use my talents. I might need something, doubt you can get it though from a sponsor."

Aviva nodded slowly. "I might be able to get you the components to make them though. What is it?"

Kai sighed and nodded before answering.

"Caltrops."

Aviva let out a low whistle then smirked. "I'll see what I can do."

Kai nodded, thankful and went to prepare himself for the interviews with Orion's help. Once they were ready they joined the other tributes, all dressed in fancy outfits, ready for their interviews. The Games Master of Ceremonies was onstage and gearing the crowd up for the interviews. The Master of Ceremonies was a thirty year old Capitol man named Rohan; he was energetic, clad in a colourful suit, his hair and eyes were sea green this time, he normally changed his hair and eye colour every year.

Once he was satisfied with the crowd's enthusiasm he called out.

"Okay, now let's meet out first tribute, from District 1…Citlali Tate!"

Citlali; clad in a slinky, strapless pink mini-dress and six inch heels, sauntered out onto the stage and took the chair opposite Rohan, giving the crowd her best, beaming smile.

"So, Citlali; I trust you are ready for the Games?" Rohan inquired politely, his usual smile in place.

Citlali nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I am; and rest assured, I'm going to make these Games one to remember. I'll give you all a brilliant show!"

The crowd cheered wildly, already in love with the District 1 girl. However her expression darkened slightly when Rohan asked his next question.

"Any words on the training scores, what's your opinion?"

She recovered well though and simply shrugged. "I think there's been some mistake; but rest assured, anyone who has doubts will soon see them quashed…Those scores won't mean anything once we're in the arena."

The rest of the interviews followed a similar pattern, the Careers bragging about their strengths and superiority. The others either downplaying their scores or acting mysterious. The Aspen siblings played along with Rohan, joking and laughing with him. Dashiell played it cool, Liora and Galatea acted confident, warning against underestimating them. Finally, it was Kai's turn; he walked out and took his seat.

Rohan smiled and the crowd began whispering excitedly. Here was the boy from District 12, with his unusual appearance and the highest score; they wondered what they would hear from him.

"So, Kai, we're very glad to have you here." Rohan stated.

Kai smiled back. "Thank you Rohan, I'm glad to have received such fine hospitality while I've been here."

It wasn't a complete lie Kai noted to himself, the Capitol food was incredible, the beds comfortable, what a shame it was all a set up to leading him to what could well be his death. Despite his lack of experience in dealing with people Kai found himself easily bantering with Rohan. Then Rohan asked the question.

"So Kai, I'm sure we're all surprised by what we saw, a boy from District 12 scoring such a high training score, anything you can share with us?" His voice was excited and hinted at being conspiratorial.

Kai didn't let his smile falter and shook his head. "I'm sorry Rohan, I can't give away any secrets, it'd ruin the surprise and fun when I got to work in the arena." He looked out at the crowd. "We wouldn't want that now."

The crowd voiced their approval of Kai's decision, clearly savouring the anticipation. Rohan also accepted it and with a few more words the interviews ended and Rohan made his final speech. Finally with the last interview over and the tributes returned to their rooms, ready for their last night before entering the arena.

When Kai and Liora woke up the following day they headed through to the main room and enjoyed their last proper breakfast for some time. Aviva, Zinnia and their stylists ate with them, they said little. When the meal was done the stylists and Zinnia left. Aviva remained with them.

"I'm to escort you to the Hovercraft when its time." She explained. "Now, I want you all to remember your plans; be careful and always leave room to change your plans if necessary."

They both nodded; Aviva then smiled and spoke again. "We're not allowed to bet, favouritism, that sort of thing. But, Zinnia told me last night, if the two of you don't make it to at _least_ the top ten…she'll eat her hat."

They both laughed and Kai thought about the hat he had seen her wearing with the large stuffed vulture on it.

"I think that'd be a three course meal." He quipped, prompting more laughter.

However the laughter stopped and things sobered as the time came. Aviva walked them to the balcony where the hovercraft picked them up. They then found themselves sitting silent and lost in thought, even as their trackers were injected, they remained quiet until they arrived and disembarked. They were led to separate rooms, inside his room Kai found Orion waiting. Orion helped Kai get ready and make final preparations.

"You will do well Kai, I'm sure you didn't get that eleven for nothing and everyone remembers…the Phoenix." He explained.

Kai nodded. "I…Thank you…for everything Orion."

Orion nodded and then they heard the announcement, it was time. Kai approached the tube and entered it. It sealed shut behind him and the platform lifted him up into the arena, the Games were ready to begin.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	8. Bloodbath and Chaos

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 8 of my Hunger Games story, the Games begin, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Skoilr: Yup, they are, well, here you go, hope they don't disappoint :)  
Smiles1998: Yeah, exactly; okay then, what were questions BTW, just curious?  
C.B. Weasley: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, here you go :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Bloodbath and Chaos**

The tributes all stood on their pedestals, waiting for the countdown to end. They took a moment to carefully survey their surroundings. The Gamemakers had decided to mix and match terrains this time around. They were currently standing in a circle around the Cornucopia in the middle of a grassy plain. Based on the angle of the sun and the time of day Kai noted he was standing with his back to North-East. Directly North and covering that direction reaching halfway around North-East and North-West was a steep hill leading to a prairie like field. It merged into the two areas on either side of it. To the East was a collection of rocks and small dunes which led to a large beach with water lapping up on it in small waves. The West side was dominated by mountains, with valleys and caves intercut through it, forming pathways into them. However it was to the South that Kai saw his ideal terrain; the entire southern side of the arena was covered in jungle. Kai quickly planned a route he could take to get to the jungle without putting himself in too much danger. However, in order to grab necessary supplies on route he would have to pass the fringes of combat.

'_So long as I stay out of the main Bloodbath I should be okay.'_ He thought quietly to himself.

Satisfied with his plan and knowledge of his surroundings he turned his attention to the other tributes.

He could see Citlali glaring at him from her position, three tributes to his right, her back directly north; her waist length hair, which would have been a liability if left loose, was tied in a tight bun. He could see the other Careers and just make out Liora, half-hidden behind the Cornucopia almost completely opposite him and Joyic, on the pedestal to Liora's right. The others were hidden from view by the Cornucopia. He quickly turned his attention back to the countdown. Out the corner of his eye he saw Citlali tense and smirk; she thought he was going to plunge straight into the Bloodbath, well; she was going to be disappointed. Kai prepared himself as the countdown reached the last ten seconds; he could see the other tributes do the same as slowly the last ten seconds passed. The countdown hit zero, the tributes knew then the mines were deactivated, they all ran. There was chaos almost at once as the first tributes clashed; with no weapons to hand they resorted to fists. Kai stayed on the fringes, out of combat; although he found himself passing perilously close to the Cornucopia. He stooped and grabbed a backpack off the ground, caught around one of the straps was what looked like a broad leather belt of some kind. Kai had no time to ponder this however as Citlali emerged from the Cornucopia armed with a deadly sword with a barbed blade. As she emerged she swung it viciously and instantly killed the girl from District 10, Joyic's District partner.

Kai didn't wait for further developments; he continued running, grabbing a matching belt to the one he already had and another, thinner belt, this one had a sheath attached and in the sheath was a Hunting Knife. He continued to run, heading for the jungle when his instincts screamed at him and he dropped to the ground, just in time. The thrown knife sailed harmlessly overhead and disappeared from view. Kai grabbed the small pack in front of him and darted into the jungle out of sight, not daring to slow down until the sounds of battle faded away. Citlali smirked as she watched Alazne kill one of the male tributes; she had already killed the girl from the same District taking them out of the Games.

'_Those weaklings never stood a chance.'_ She thought with glee as she looked around for other victims.

Before killing the girl she had got into a fight with another girl, but wasn't sure if she was dead or not. She looked over at the body, she wasn't moving. A lot of tributes had grabbed stuff and left but she and her fellow Careers had managed to stockpile the majority of supplies and weapons for themselves. She watched as the stragglers, were killed off in order by Chase, Janela and Asher. She spotted movement and realized the girl she had fought earlier was still alive, but wounded. She hurried over and thrust her sword through the girl, finishing her off. At the same time she saw Alazne kill another of the female tributes, and then all was quiet.

Satisfied Citlali and her fellow Careers cleaned their weapons; Caspar had yet to kill. Citlali was determined to break him in; but first, she had a more pressing concern.

"Where's that coal brat?" She asked disdainfully, noting she hadn't seen the silver haired freak in the Bloodbath. "I thought he'd be dead, but he's not."

Janela shrugged. "I saw him and tried to get him with one my knives, but he ducked. He ran off towards the jungle."

Citlali raised an eyebrow. "That's ridiculous, a pathetic runt like him, he's too stupid to do something like that. He was supposed to run straight into the Bloodbath, that's what those stupid coal brats do."

"Well clearly he didn't." Alazne shot back, glaring at Citlali. "They've never ran into the Bloodbath since that woman from 12 won the Games."

Citlali scowled at Alazne before talking to the others and gathering information on the surviving tributes. Some, including the girls from District 12 and 11 and the cripple from District 10, had fled into the mountains. The boy from 11 had gone into the large prairie. The rest had gone into the jungle. Her main target was in there and Citlali made up her mind.

"Right, let's get going, grab what we'll need and we'll into the jungle." She declared. "Time to kill some more weaklings."

"Who named you leader?" Alazne questioned with a glare.

Citlali returned the glare with equal ferocity. "I'm the only one capable of being leader, now shut up and do as I say."

Alazne muttered to herself but did so and the Careers headed off into the jungle.

Kai felt like his lungs were going to bust, but he didn't dare stop, not yet. Twice so far he had to change his route when he nearly ran right into swamps. Luckily however when he finally did stop, it was next to a river.

'_A water source.' _He thought happily; before caution took over. _'Just gotta make sure it's safe.'_

He sat down and caught his breath, keeping an ear open for trouble he examined what he had grabbed on his way here. The backpack contained a decent supply of food and water bottles; enough to last him some time if he rationed it right. He also found a small, makeshift water purification kit and also noted that a metal dart had ended up embedded in the backpack. He took the dart, wrapped it carefully in a small cloth and pocketed it, it could be useful. He set the water purification kit to work as he began to fill his water bottles. He checked the smaller pack; it contained meagre supplies of food, but no water. Still it could be useful; he transferred the food to his backpack and decided to make use of the small pack. He checked the hunting knife and verified its sharpness before checking the larger belts, he realized now they were actually bandoleers with ten throwing knives each. He was armed now; but he didn't have time to worry about camouflage or anything else, that would wait until tomorrow. Once his water bottles were full he stashed them back in his backpack and strapped everything on, carrying the small pack with him as he continued onwards.

As he was walking however a loud noise made him stop in his tracks, it was the cannon, the Bloodbath was over, the Careers moved on, the bodies collected, now he would know how many died. He counted each boom of the cannon, one for each fallen tribute. Finally the last cannon boom and he sighed.

'_Eight dead, sixteen of us left.'_ He thought to himself. _'Guess tonight I'll find out who, just hope Liora's alright.'_

He continued onwards again; keeping an eye and ear open for any trouble. True to form the jungle was hot; but he stuck to the ration he had worked out for water and food. Finally he came to a stop, it was getting late, he'd need to take shelter for the night. Knowing the ground of the jungle was not the safest place to be when he didn't have camouflage he instead climbed a nearby tree. He found a secure place, where the branches provided enough cover as well as somewhere to lie without risk of falling if he was careful. He kept everything strapped on; he had already but the small pack to use. Before climbing the tree he had used a nearby one set up a snare trap with the pack as the bait, left lying as if accidentally dropped. He just hoped it would work and he would at least disable one of the other tributes; right now he wasn't fully prepared, until he was, he knew he'd be better off avoiding combat altogether.

It was then he heard the anthem and looked up to the sky where the images of the dead tributes would be shown. Sure enough, as he had seen the girl from District 10 was first, followed by both tributes from District 5, the boy from District 9, the girl from District 8, both tributes from District 6 and finally the girl from District 9. The anthem ended and the images faded away and all was quiet again.

Kai lowered his head and sighed as his thoughts took over again. _'Districts 5, 6 and 9 are now out of the Games, District 8 and District 10 only have one tribute left each…Joyic for District 10…I wonder how he's doing.'_

Kai felt his exhaustion and lay down, he needed to sleep now if he was to be ready for tomorrow; he closed his eyes and, relying on his mental alarm clock to wake him up at dawn, he finally drifted off to sleep, wondering with trepidation what tomorrow would bring.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	9. Facing the Gauntlet

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 9 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Skoilr: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, wait and see :)  
Smiles1998: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well; you'll soon have your answer.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Facing the Gauntlet**

Kai's mental alarm clock didn't fail him; he opened his eyes as the sun was rising. His sleep had been fitful; at least three tributes had passed him during the night, luckily not seeing him.

_Even more luckily for me they weren't the Careers.' _He thought with relief; he had seen one of them, the boy from District 8, but didn't know who the other two were.

Nobody was here now, that he could hear, but something sent a shiver down his spine. It was then he heard it, the rustling of the leaves; only there was no wind to make it happen. His feeling of dread mounting he turned his head and saw the source.

'_A Gamemakers trap; the jungle it's…it's alive.'_

Behind him, trees were moving on their own accord; vines flailing out, branches closing over. It was getting closer and closer to him; if he stayed where he was, he was sure either the branches would crush him, or the vines try to choke him. There was no time to get down; his only option was to stay ahead of the trees coming to life. He still had everything with him; much to his relief, so he took off immediately, relieved that he hadn't put on so much weight he couldn't use the tree tops and branches to move. He leapt from the tree he was on to the next, manuvered through the branches and leapt to an overhanging branch, swung from it over to the next tree and continued along the trees; keeping only a few steps ahead of the danger behind him.

Finally he reached another jump; he would need to swing from the overhanging branch again. Luckily he had managed to put some distance between himself and the trap; so he had time to prepare himself. He took a deep breath and leapt, he grabbed the branch, was about to swing, and then it happened. Either he had miscalculated his own weight, the strength of the branch, or the Gamemakers trickery. Whatever the reason, the branch broke and he fell to the ground. He had turned in mid-air and was now facing the ground when he landed; using his arms to break his fall. No bones broke but when he hit the ground an agonizing sharp pain lanced through the lower left part of his abdomen, just above his left hip. He jerked and heard a snapping noise. He looked down and saw the area where the pain originated from, it had been pierced by a sharp and thin wooden steak; already the wound was bleeding, but blood loss was limited thanks to the steak still being in the wound. He then realized the trap was still coming and forced himself to his feet, despite his pain. He had no time to remove the steak yet. Half-running, half-limping he continued to try and outrun the trap, occasionally stumbling over his own feet. In desperation, stealth was the last thing on his mind. All he cared about was getting away and survived the trap, wondering if there were more waiting.

He stumbled again and this time, fell to his knees, breathless and in pain. Anyway who came by after the jungle stopped pursuing him; would have a trail of blood drops to follow, he was sure.

'_Can't stop now, need to…keep…going.'_

However when he put his hand on the fallen tree next to him to pull himself up, he rapidly pulled it away with a cry of pain. His hand was red and swollen, blistering before his eyes.

Kai realized immediately what had happened. _'A second degree burn.'_

Pulling himself to his feet he saw that he was in trouble. Behind him, the jungle was still alive and catching up with him. Now in front of him, the jungle was on fire and also rapidly approaching him, he was caught between two traps. He was about to move off when he heard it, and realized he was caught between three.

"This way, I heard it." Came Citlali's unmistakable nasal voice. "The scream came from over here."

Kai groaned. _'Great, trees trying to kill me, fire coming towards me and now the Careers are braving the dangers to try and kill me too…If I go the only way not blocked off, I'll likely fall into another deadly trap.' _He pondered for a moment and made his choice. _'It's my best chance.'_

So, rather than run away, he headed in the direction the Careers were coming from, keeping himself on a parallel course, so he wouldn't run right into them.

The steak lodged in his abdomen was painful, his right hand in agony, but still Kai hurried on. It was then he heard a cry and instinctively dodged. But it wasn't enough; he saw Janela smirk as she straightened up and felt the pain and blood run down his left arm, just below his shoulder. He looked down at the gash, she had thrown one of her knives and it had just missed a direct hit, cutting only his arm as it passed.

"There, get him!" Janela cried out.

He took off running, the Careers pursing him now; the fire and jungle blocking off his escape routes and funnelling him into keeping straight. He could hear them whooping and cheering behind him and was worried they were gaining ground. He then heard Citlali's voice again, this time calling out directly.

"You're mine coal brat, you won't get away!"

He looked behind him and saw there was still some distance between them, his injuries however meant that gap would likely close soon. It was then the path dropped into a steep hill and Kai, not seeing it, fell and tumbled down the hill, sending more pain ricocheting through his body. He landing with a grunt and, ignoring the pain pulled himself up and back, realizing to his relief there was a small overhang, he pushed himself underneath and out of sight.

He fought to get his breathing under control; silencing himself as he heard the Careers above him.

"That's one hell of a drop." He heard one of male tributes say, either Asher or Chase as the voice sounded older. "Well, the cannon didn't go off; he's still alive."

"So where is he?" Another male voice, younger, Caspar.

This time it was Alazne who spoke. "Down there somewhere; hiding no doubt, so what do we do now?"

While the Careers debated their choices Kai gingerly explored his sensations; apart from the pain before he now felt bruised and his muscle were screaming, his lungs burning as he tried to pull enough air into them. Luckily his falls hadn't broken any bones; just as he reached this conclusion he heard the Careers agree on a plan; the fire had stopped so they decided to leave and let the jungle take him. They were now going to find a victim and give Caspar his first kill. He tried to move but found it futile; they were gone but he could hear the jungle getting closer. However then, to his surprise, it reached the edge of the drop and went still. Several minutes passed before he realized the trap had ended and he was now safe. He let out a long breath and took off his backpack; the small pack and trap he set with it would now be lost, and pulled out his medical supplies and began treating his injuries.

Once he had treated his burned hand and the cut on his arm, he turned his attention to the steak lodged in his abdomen, the only way to properly treat the wound would be to pull it out and remove his shirt, treating it directly. Keeping medical pads handy he put the small bit of wood in his mouth to stifle any cry and grasped the steak; with as much strength as he could muster, he pulled it out; the pain was intense but not enough to break him; he quickly got to work staunching the bleeding and then removing his shirt and treating and bandaging the wound. Finally he pulled his shirt back on; all his wounds were treated now and at no risk of infection. He was shocked to see how much time had passed; surviving that trap had taken most of the day. It was then he realized something else; his brown was sweating and not just from running; he had pains in his joints and muscles, he had a bad headache and a skin rash, all symptoms of dengue fever, something his medical pack didn't have treatment for. That night he did not have the strength to climb a tree and remained under the outcrop, surprisingly, despite the deadly traps, nobody had died that day. Kai took a careful sip of water and prayed for access to one of the Capitol's wonder treatments which would cure him of the illness he had just contracted.

The following morning he awoke to discover that a sponsor had landed near him; he quickly checked it; it didn't contain the medicine he needed, but he had a feeling it had been sent before his illness had manifested. It did contain something he needed though, the components to make his caltrops; plus a note from Aviva which read quite simply 'stay strong and wait for the next sponsor' and he knew, without a doubt, that she was working on getting him the medicine. He knew one thing; he would need to maintain a good balance of fluids. He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the pain, noting that his other injuries weren't as painful now. With everything stashed in his backpack and his weapons strapped properly to himself. He decided he would need to gather what he needed to make his bombs, along with materials for making a Ghillie suit from scratch. Battling dengue fever while grabbing various materials from the jungle wasn't easy, but Kai was used to hardship. Life in District 12 was always a hardship after all. It was then he heard dark growls and knew right away they had to be Muttations, Kai froze and looked around, catching a glimpse of one of them as they ran past, after other prey at the moment, Mutts that resembled tigers, fitting for the current terrain. He decided to try and put as much distance as possible between himself and the Mutts. He stopped as two things happened at once, he found himself once more blocked by a swamp and he heard the growls of the Mutts and screams before the cannon boomed.

Kai pondered for a moment, then an idea occurred to him as he noted the clump of reeds growing by the swamp. He cut one of them free and worked on it until he fashioned a makeshift blowpipe. Now, if he had the means to make the dart more deadly, he would have the means to use it as a deadly weapon now. Satisfied Kai began to make his way around the swamp, looking for a route that would take him safely away from the mutts. He gripped the wooden branch he had fashioned into a makeshift spear tightly. He hadn't gone more than ten paces when everything happened at once. He heard the growls again and then a sound of steel and sharp pain in his right leg which made him trip. He looked down and saw his foot had been caught in a man-trap, luckily one without blades. However he knew if it wasn't for the boots he was wearing, it would've taken his foot off at the ankle. But now he was trapped and he could hear the mutts approaching. He had dropped everything he was carrying in his arms except his spear. He gripped it and looked around wildly as the Mutts drew closer. He saw the bushes in front of him move and readied himself; he could see there were at most three of them, one leapt out at Kai. He quickly thrust with his spear and killed it, yanking the spear free and did the same with the second one, only then the spear broke.

The sweat was pouring off him, the combination of his trapped leg, his sudden loss of a distance weapon and his dengue fever was starting to catch up with him. The third Mutt leapt at him and pinned him to the ground, he struggled desperately to keep its jaws from getting anywhere near to his throat as he stabbed at it with the broken end of his spear. Suddenly the Mutt roared and rolled off Kai as a sword was pulled out of it. Kai now found himself still trapped with two other tributes standing over him.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	10. Friends in a Dark Place

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 10 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Smiles1998: Yeah, the evil cliffhanger strikes again, hope you enjoy this chapter too :)  
Skoilr: Yeah, no kidding, well; here's the next chapter.  
C.B. Weasley: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, good idea, I'll do that.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Friends in a Dark Place**

Kai remained tense; unsure about if these two tributes had saved him from the Mutt, just to kill him themselves. However they moved closer and he recognized them, relaxing as he remembered he had agreed to form an alliance with them. It was Birch and Cassia Aspen, they both knelt down.

"Just hold on." Cassia told him.

Together with her brother they pulled the jaws of the trap open enough for Kai to pull his foot out. Once he did so they let go and the trap snapped shut, harmlessly. Kai struggled to his feet, the Aspen siblings helped him up and, with Kai limping on his injured leg, they led him to a small temporary camp nearby.

"We set this place up when we heard the Careers were nearby." Birch explained. "It's a defensible location, but I think we'll need to move soon."

Kai nodded. "It certainly is defensible, one way in and out, guard that well, it becomes a choke point."

The siblings nodded and they sat Kai down; they both sat down and Kai checked his leg.

"I should be fine; just need to rest for a few minutes." He explained.

They nodded and then Kai noticed that Birch had gathered all the materials he had dropped when the trap struck.

Birch handed Kai the materials.

"Thanks, I need these." He explained. "Lucky I got extras, now I'm gonna need to work on a few things."

Cassia however looked at him, concerned. "Are you sure, you don't look so good, what happened here."

She pointed towards the skin rash and Kai sighed.

"I was bitten by some insect in here, dengue fever." He told them. "But don't worry, everything will be fine."

As if on cue they spotted a sponsor approaching; Birch retrieved and when he returned he handed it to Kai.

"District 12, this is yours." He stated.

Kai nodded and opened it; he read the note and took out the package in the sponsor, containing pill capsules. Kai had read the note and knew what they were. He pulled one out, put it in his mouth and swallowed it with his water. He then pulled two more out and handed them to the Aspen siblings.

"Take them, treatment for Jungle Illnesses and also immunizes you against them." He smiled. "I should be in the clear soon."

They nodded and took the capsules; Kai stashed the box in his backpack and then got to work, using the materials he had gathered. Birch and Cassia watched in amazement as Kai expertly crafted, from scratch, three Ghillie suits, one for each of them.

"Here, we wear these and use them right, we'll be almost perfectly camouflaged against any surroundings."

Impressed by this they pulled the Ghillie suits on and Kai then got to work using the hollowed out shells and various other materials he gathered and powdered as well as the caltrop materials to craft nine makeshift bombs.

By the time he used all his materials however only five of the bombs were complete. Before Kai could explain about it to the siblings the cannon boomed again.

"We need to get outta here. Defensible or not, we're sitting ducks out here. The Careers are still here and at least one has ranged weapons." He warned.

They agreed and gathered everything they needed; Kai attached the bombs to the inside of his Ghillie suit, within easy reach. He carefully put weight on his right leg and found it had recovered; so they left and continued to move through the jungle. Kai heard it first and signalled for them to take cover, they did, their Ghillie suits blending in perfectly with their surroundings. They watched as the Careers walked past, joking and laughing.

"Did you hear the way she screamed when she fell down?" Laughed Alazne as the others nodded and Janela did a comical impression of the scream.

Asher smiled and clapped Caspar on the shoulder. "You did good kid, clean kill; couldn't ask for better on your first kill."

Caspar just nodded; looking dazed and Kai realized they had done what they said they would, Caspar had been properly inducted as he claimed his first victim. When they finally passed Kai signalled again to the Aspen siblings and they progressed. They worked, hunting and gathering edible plants. Kai also used the blood of one of his kills to finish one of his bombs, leaving just three incomplete.

They finally stopped and made camp, their Ghillie suits would provide them with cover when they slept at night. As they sat and ate some food and drank some water; the Ghillie suits were, after all, hot. They heard the anthem and watched as the two tributes that died were shown. First the one killed by the Mutts, the boy from District 8, putting them out of the Games; and the girl from District 3, the one Caspar had killed. Finally Kai sighed.

"Well, time to finish these last three bombs." He remarked. "Gonna have to make a sacrifice however."

Birch and Cassia looked at him. "What do you mean?" Cassia asked.

Kai then removed eighteen of his twenty throwing knives and, using a nearby rock, smashed them into small yet sharp pieces of shrapnel, all of which went into the three remaining bombs, the fuses were put in place and now he had nine complete bombs, ready to go.

"Well, that's me fully armed now I think." He remarked.

The siblings smiled at that and Birch replied. "Now Cassia and I feel we're not carrying enough weapons."

Kai simply laughed along with them and, knowing they could do nothing else and, relying on their Ghillie suits they lay down, blending in and falling asleep. The heat from the suits which caused them problems during the day actually provided relief for the cold nights.

They woke up on the fourth day; no further deaths had come up so far. They decided to move further through the jungle; Kai felt a lot better, the medicine had worked wonders, his dengue fever had cleared up. They moved quietly; being cautious, keeping an eye out for the Careers. As they walked they also gathered more food and plants. They stopped to take a short break and Birch approached them with some plants in his arms.

"Here, these should be good." He remarked.

Kai looked at them and froze as Birch set them down and picked one in particular up. He reacted quickly and took it from Birch's grasp.

"Don't; how many of these did you take?" He gasped.

Birch and Cassia were shocked by this sudden reaction; finally Birch admitted that it was the only one.

Kai sighed and then explained. "That's Datura; very small, very pretty…and very poisonous."

The siblings froze in shock at how close they had come to danger. Kai however was examining the Datura plant.

Finally he sighed. "Damn, this isn't fresh…I was hoping, if it was I could use it in one of my bombs…but there isn't enough poison left in this plant to kill more than two people at a time. No good for using it against the Careers."

Dejected Kai threw the Datura plant aside and finally they continued onwards. Kai was wary, things were far too quiet.

Yet nothing happened, no deaths, day four came to an end with no deaths. This left Kai anxious that the Gamemakers would utilize more traps to keep things exciting. So it was he settled down to a fitful sleep, the Aspen siblings slept nearby, all keeping camouflaged with their Ghillie suits. Although Kai couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed, that he was being watched. It wasn't until the following morning however that he was awoken by a scream and the boom of the cannon.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

At the end of each chapter set during the Games where tributes die, I will show a list of all Tributes (in District order) and next to the tributes that have been killed I will use the following sign: *

Next to that sign will be a number, that number indicates the order in which they died, there will also be a number in brackets; this is the age of that tribute.

Asher Longhand (18)  
Citlali Tate (17)

Chase Winter (17)  
Alazne Barca (14)

District 3 Male (15)  
District 3 Female (17) * 10

Caspar Till (14)  
Janela Maxwell (15)

District 5 Male (16) * 3  
District 5 Female (14) * 2

District 6 Male (17) * 6  
District 6 Female (17) * 7

Birch Aspen (17)  
Cassia Aspen (17)

District 8 Male (16) * 9  
District 8 Female (17) * 5

District 9 Male (14) * 4  
District 9 Female (18) * 8

Joyic (14)  
District 10 Female (15) * 1

Dashiell Williams (18)  
Galatea Elore (14)

Kai Raithebone (16)  
Liora Jade (13)

That's the list so far; will be updated as more tributes meet their end.


	11. Tragedy and Plans for Revenge

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 11 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**C.B. Weasley: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
Skoilr: Thanks, well, you'll soon get your answer. Glad you like the list, it will be included again at the end of this chapter.  
Wolfgirl2013: Glad you enjoyed it, good to see you again.  
Smiles1998: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; c'mon, you've ready plenty of my stories, surely you know by now, I'm evil with the cliffhangers.**

Now onto the story, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Tragedy and Plans for Revenge**

Kai turned his head towards the direction of the scream and his heart sank. Due to some unfortunate motion in her sleep, the hat of Cassia's Ghillie suit had come off, exposing her position. Standing above her was Citlali; she had impaled Cassia on her sword; smiling darkly. Before Kai could do anything, Birch gave a cry of anguish and rage, breaking cover and leaping up to attack Citlali with his sword. Citlali removed her sword from Cassia's body and parried Birch's strike, as well as the follow up strike. Blinded by rage and grief Birch was focused only on Citlali; therefore he didn't see Alazne approach him from behind before she had impaled him on her sword, the cannon boomed again and Alazne pushed the body off her sword to the ground. Kai realized that they knew he was there too and slowly stood up. Citlali smirked as she stepped forwards; Kai noticed the Careers had surrounded him.

Citlali smirked. "No escape now coal brat; you're on your own. Those two weaklings were so pathetic, can't believe how easy it was to kill them."

Janela laughed.

"Yeah, that's the truth." She remarked. "Can't believe they lasted this long, given how weak and useless they were."

"So easy to kill; all we had to do was pick our moment and it was done." Chase commented with a cold smile.

Kai glared. "You're cowards, killing people in their sleep; don't have the guts to face us face to face."

This caused Alazne to glare and several of the other Careers made noises of outrage. Citlali however remained smug and dangerous.

Citlali merely took another step forwards, slowly moving the tip of her sword in a steady circle.

"Talk all you want coal brat; this is the Hunger Games." She gave as way of explanation. "Anything goes; now, it's time for you to die."

She stepped forwards again; however Alazne then interrupted. "Hold it; care to explain why you get all the best kills, leaving the scrubs for us."

Citlali rounded on her.

"What was that, you dare question me?!" She screamed angrily.

Alazne glared back.

"I asked you something reasonable."

Citlali scoffed. "I'm in charge here; you'll do what I tell you. If you're really that ungrateful then fine, you can kill the rest of the losers around here. But the coal brat is mine."

With that she turned back to Kai. Her distraction towards Alazne had given him the chance he needed. He had to get out of here; it was his only chance, he clutched the bomb in his hand, hidden from their view.

"Ready to die, coal brat." She spat viciously.

Kai smirked and shook his head. "Not a chance, goodbye."

With that he threw the bomb at the ground and the thick could of smoke engulfed the Careers. Kai took that opportunity to push past Caspar, the weakest of the Careers, and made his escape.

The smoke cleared and the Careers looked around, seeing nothing but the two bodies of the District 7 tributes. Citlali glared, enraged that her target had escaped.

"You!" She snapped towards Alazne. "This is your fault, if you hadn't distracted me; I could've killed him by now!"

Alazne returned the glare and shook her head. "Oh please, you can't blame me for your incompetence. If you had been more careful…Gloated less; then you'd have killed him by now."

Citlali growled but before she could do anything Asher stepped between them.

"C'mon now, this is getting us nowhere." He remarked. "Let's go and get back to hunting these tributes, who knows Citlali, you might get another chance."

Citlali snarled at him but then sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, let's go; there are still people in the mountains." She stated. "But if we see any hint of that coal brat's presence, we're taking it."

So they left the area and allowed the hovercrafts to collect the dead bodies; but not before looting the bodies for the siblings supplies and weapons. As they walked Citlali glared at Alazne.

'_Stuck up bitch.'_ She thought bitterly. _'Who does she think she is, daring to question me? I'm the leader; she's supposed to do what I tell her to do.'_

Still glaring at Alazne Citlali walked along with the others and they sought out further victims, she knew that the other coal brat was still out there, along with the District 11 tributes and the boys from 3 and 10; she would find them and soon they would all die and she would claim her rightful place as Victor of the Games.

Kai kept running, not daring to look back; he could hardly believe what had just happened.

'_How, why…Those monsters…they…they killed them, just because they were with me.'_ He realized to his horror. _'If it had just been the two of them they wouldn't have killed them so horrifically, or in such a cowardly manner.'_

Finally he stopped; unable to progress any further as tears stung his eyes; he blinked them away. He knew he had to stay focused or he would be easy prey for the Careers. He would have to take extra care now, he had to ensure, if he made any more Ghillie suits that they would stay in perfect place, regardless of movement. Despite his fears and his attempts to keep the memories of that drastic incident at bay, the entire day passed with no further casualties and Kai took cover for the night. He looked up at the sky when the Anthem played and Cassia and Birch's faces were shown in the sky. District 7 was no longer part of the Games.

Kai sighed sadly as the faces of his friends faded from the sky. _'I'm sorry, both of you, I'm so sorry.'_

He drifted off into an uneasy and deeply troubled sleep.

Kai woke up on the sixth day of the Games, despondent and saddened by the loss of his two friends.

'_I have to keep going, stay focused, find an area…then teach them a lesson.'_ His sadness turned to anger at the Careers for their actions. _'Just gotta keep looking, find the perfect area and finally show them just what my bombs are capable off; they've seen my smoke bomb in action now, still got one left.'_

He thought carefully about his bombs; He had three lethal bombs, made from the shrapnel of most of his throwing knives. He also had his two caltrop bombs and a blood bomb, one more smoke bomb and a final bomb, one which would aid him greatly in drawing the Careers out; a smoke signal bomb. Kai was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of movements nearby; he quickly drew his hunting knife and took cover, waiting. He was relieved however when he saw that it was Liora, she wasn't alone either. With her was Galatea Elore and Joyic; Kai stepped out from behind the tree, the three of them jumped but then calmed down. Liora approached him.

"Kai, are we glad to see you." She remarked. "The Careers have gone to the mountains. We were there until we heard them; we just ran, found ourselves here."

Kai nodded. "They just left here…They killed Birch and Cassia…"

The trio saw Kai's despondent look and realized the truth; Kai had befriended and allied with the two siblings and felt responsible for their deaths.

Kai decided to bring the younger tributes under his protection. He took extra care when making their Ghillie suits, explaining to all of them his plans. They were surprised but agreed with him; curious about how he planned to deal with the Careers. The day passed without casualties; the following day was most uneventful; they gathered food and Kai made sure they had everything they needed. Soon they found the perfect location for Kai's plan to deal with the Careers.

"This is it." He remarked. "Okay, it's late, tomorrow, we'll get to work, deal with the Careers…"

He looked around as if hoping the Gamemakers were watching him as he announced.

"…Then I'll give the Capitol a show they'll never forget."

Kai just hoped that would be enough to let the second bloodless day pass without springing traps first thing in the morning. So day seven passed and day eight dawned, with Kai ready to put his plans against the Careers into action.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

Asher Longhand (18)  
Citlali Tate (17)

Chase Winter (17)  
Alazne Barca (14)

District 3 Male (15)  
District 3 Female (17) * 10

Caspar Till (14)  
Janela Maxwell (15)

District 5 Male (16) * 3  
District 5 Female (14) * 2

District 6 Male (17) * 6  
District 6 Female (17) * 7

Birch Aspen (17) * 12  
Cassia Aspen (17) * 11

District 8 Male (16) * 9  
District 8 Female (17) * 5

District 9 Male (14) * 4  
District 9 Female (18) * 8

Joyic (14)  
District 10 Female (15) * 1

Dashiell Williams (18)  
Galatea Elore (14)

Kai Raithebone (16)  
Liora Jade (13)


	12. Decimating the Careers

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 12 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.  
Skoilr: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; well, wait and see what happens; just to clarify, Kai is not without mercy but he can be very vengeful.  
Smiles1998: That's fine, glad you enjoyed it, well, here's the results :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Decimating the Careers**

'_Day eight.'_ Kai thought to himself; it seemed no traps had been sprung. _'The Gamemakers must be interested in what I plan to do.'_

He knew the Gamemakers would be taking an interest in him, despite their best attempts he was still alive; he had eluded the Careers several times, evaded and survived their traps and now, was about to fight back. He turned to the other three; they could see from his expression it was time.

"I have to set things up." He told them. "Soon everything will be ready and we'll be able to deal with the Careers. Just leave it to me, pick a tree and climb it, find a suitable branch and take cover, make sure you're hidden, the Ghillie suits will help."

Liora and Galatea nodded and headed to their intended trees, Joyic however looked worried.

"Kai, I…I can't…" He fumbled with his words.

Kai smiled sympathetically however; he knew what Joyic meant; due to his crippled arm, Joyic would have difficulty climbing trees.

"It's alright; I'll help you out, c'mon."

Joyic nodded and soon Kai helped him reach a suitable branch and he hid, along with the other two. As soon as they were hidden Kai got to work, setting up one of his caltrop bombs between two trees, rigging it with tripwires. He made sure his other bombs were ready and prepared to begin his plan.

He set one of his bombs in the centre of the clearing and lit the fuse; he then quickly climbed a nearby tree and took up his position. Once in position he watched as the fuse burned down and the bomb ignited, sending a large plume of smoke, similar to campfire smoke, into the air. He waited tensely, praying his plan worked; the smoke burned out and a few minutes passed before his prayers were answered. Emerging from the trees, looking around wildly, the Careers converged on the spot where the smoke had come from; there was now no trace of it, or a fire.

"Nothing's here." Asher commented confused.

Citlali glowered. "We all saw the smoke, we know it's him…Don't forget that stupid suit he's wearing, he could lying right in front of us, laughing at us for all we know."

With that she moodily began to poke the tall grass in front of her with her sword.

Alazne shook her head. "He's not there Citlali, forget it. It was a trick.

Citlali shot a dirty look at Alazne before muttering. "Of course it was; that's all he's good at, tricks. He didn't get his high score for talent like me."

Kai smirked; he now knew the reason for Citlali's anger towards him. It was indeed simply jealously due to him scoring the same as her in training. He could now use that against her, that and her vanity. He mentally prepared himself, it was time.

He gripped his first bomb; lit the fuse and threw it down to them. They were confused by the noises but then the screaming began. The bomb exploded covering them with blood, making them freak out. Finally Citlali wiped the blood away from her eyes and looked around wildly as she bellowed to the other Careers.

"Calm down, all of you, it's another trick, it's not our blood!" She gave another growl. "This is how he got his high score, cheap tricks like this."

Kai made his next move and leapt down from the tree, surprising the Careers. Kai used that opportunity to throw one of his remaining two throwing knives. Unfortunately his aim was off and instead of killing, the knife merely left a long cut on Citlali's right cheek. He quickly threw down his second smoke bomb and under the cover of the bomb he leapt over the tripwires and stopped, waiting for them. Once they had fully recovered Citlali felt her injured cheek, looked at the blood and let out a snarl.

"Grab him, I'm gonna kill that coal brat."

With that the Careers advanced and broke the tripwire, setting off the bomb and scattering caltrops over the ground, digging into their feet, making them jump from foot to foot, trying to dodge the caltrops. Seizing his ultimate chance; Kai pulled one of his shrapnel bombs out and lit the fuse, he then threw it. Too late the Careers realized what was about to happen and tried to leap out of the way. Asher and Janela however weren't quick enough and the blast and shrapnel killed them.

The four remaining Careers recovered and noticed Kai once more held a bomb in his hand, this one without a fuse, one that would go off when it made hard impact with a surface. Alazne noticed this and stopped advancing.

"Wait a minute; we're just walking into his trap."

Citlali scoffed. "It's another smoke bomb; it won't stop us, now come on!"

The advanced, only for Kai to throw the bomb down and soon the three Careers that advanced were once more victims of caltrops. Kai smirked and lit the fuse on a second shrapnel bomb and threw it towards them, taking cover himself. Alazne acted as quickly as she could and pulled Citlali, the one nearest to her, out of harm's way. Caspar and Chase however were killed by the bomb. Alazne shook her head.

"We'll be killed if this keeps up, we'll get another chance, let's just get out of here!"

Citlali looked panicked but nodded and agreed. "Well come on, let's go."

With that they fled and Kai smiled; it taken all but one of his bombs, but he had decimated the Careers. As if on cue, with the show over, the cannon boomed four times for each dead Career. He headed back to the centre of the clearing.

"Okay you three, it's safe, c'mon down."

Liora, Joyic and Galatea slipped down from the trees, all looking at Kai in amazement.

Liora was the one who found her voice first. "Kai, that was…amazing, you just…"

Kai nodded, smiling.

Joyic spoke next. "Is it true, is that…is that how you scored so high?"

Kai confirmed this too.

"Well, we didn't get all of them, but they've been damaged, let's go, get outta here and find somewhere safe."

They agreed and they left the area, allowing the hovercraft to reclaim the bodies.

As they walked away from the site of Kai's triumph over the Careers; he thought grimly to himself about what had occurred.

'_That was for Cassia and Birch, it's not over yet, but that's a good measure of revenge.'_

Satisfied with that he pondered about Alazne and Citlali, from what he saw they seemed to be fleeing towards the grasslands in the centre of the arena. That was where they had made their base, gathered all their supplies and weapons. They had likely gone there to recover and plan their next move. Finally, that night, after no more deaths occurred they saw the faces of the four Careers in the sky and drifted off to sleep while Kai pondered to himself.

'_So, it's down to the four of us, Dashiell, the two remaining Careers and the boy from 3.'_ He sighed. _'How is this going to play out, I don't relish the thought of having to fight any of these three with me.'_

Troubled though it was their sleep was not disturbed. Kai decided to hunt for food and help them gather plants, food and other supplies. Despite, or perhaps due to, their wariness, they were not attacked and day nine passed without any bloodshed. Day ten dawned and Kai began to grow disturbed; worried that some trap was on the way, or that they were being stalked by some other tribute. They stopped for a moment, having gathered more supplies; Kai then saw the plant growing nearby and knelt to examine it.

He stood up sighing.

"Still not fresh, it'll never work." He muttered, confusing the other three.

Galatea was the one who asked. "What are you talking about?"

Kai then gestured to the plants. "Datura, a very poisonous plant; I was hoping to use to make some poisonous weapon, to make up for having only one bomb left. But it's not fresh enough; I'll only be able to kill one of the remaining Careers, rather than both of them."

It was then Joyic gasped.

"Wait, I've seen that plant before; it regrows and fresh versions of the plants form every day." He explained. "It grown in a small meadow in the centre of the mountains."

Kai smiled. "That's where we need to go then."

Joyic shook his head however.

"It'll be quicker if I go myself, I know the area…don't worry, it'll be okay, I'll be fine."

Kai and the others had been about to protest Joyic going alone. Yet in the end, he was insistent and left on his own, leaving Kai, Liora and Galatea to take up position at the agreed area. Yet Kai was wary, day ten had passed with no bloodshed, the Games were getting stagnant, boring. There would be traps unleashed soon; he knew it, and he knew they would be the most likely victims. He just prayed that they would be able to survive it.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

Current list of the tributes and who is dead:

Asher Longhand (18) * 13  
Citlali Tate (17)

Chase Winter (17) * 16  
Alazne Barca (14)

District 3 Male (15)  
District 3 Female (17) * 10

Caspar Till (14) * 15  
Janela Maxwell (15) *14

District 5 Male (16) * 3  
District 5 Female (14) * 2

District 6 Male (17) * 6  
District 6 Female (17) * 7

Birch Aspen (17) * 12  
Cassia Aspen (17) * 11

District 8 Male (16) * 9  
District 8 Female (17) * 5

District 9 Male (14) * 4  
District 9 Female (18) * 8

Joyic (14)  
District 10 Female (15) * 1

Dashiell Williams (18)  
Galatea Elore (14)

Kai Raithebone (16)  
Liora Jade (13)


	13. Tragedy Returns with a Vengeance

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 13 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
Smiles1998: Well, wait and see what happens, it's pretty sad though.  
Skoilr: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, it's fast approaching and she's beyond angry now, she is engulfed with rage.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Tragedy Returns with a Vengeance**

It was when Kai woke up that he realized his fears were justified. The Gamemakers had sprung a trap and, judging by the screams, he, Galatea and Liora were all caught in it. His eyes snapped open as he realized his movements were restricted. The forest had come alive again and bound all three of them with the vines hanging from the trees. Worse still he realized how it planned to kill them, vines had wrapped around their throats strangling them. Kai could feel the tightness of the vines around his throat and realized they were pulling even tighter. He fumbled but then, managed to wrench his hunting knife free of its sheath. He began to hack away at the vines, fighting desperately to draw air into his burning lungs. Black spots were appearing before his vision but finally he hacked away the last of the vines and his throat was free. The air came rushing back into him as he took a deep measured breath and continued trying to hack the vines and free himself and the girls. He could see the terror in their eyes, their faces going purple and he became more desperate; however then, to his horror he heard a horrific crack and Galatea stopped struggling, hanging limply in the vines, her neck broken, until they let her go and the cannon boomed out.

Rage and despair gripped Kai's heart and with an almost animalistic roar he hacked and stabbed at the vines and the nearby tree from which they hung. He could see Liora also choking.

'_No fucking way, I'm dammed if I let her…' _His thoughts raced as with another roar he stabbed at the tree again.

This time he actually hit a sensitive spot on the tree and suddenly they were released from the vines and the trap deactivated. Kai scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could and looked around, waiting for the trees to attack again. But they were still; the jungle was no longer alive and no longer trying to kill them. Liora gasped desperately for air as she shakily began to get up. Suddenly Kai heard something whistling through the air, a gasp of pain and then, the cannon boomed again. Kai looked over in horror and saw Liora, lying dead, a spear through her chest, having been thrown directly at her. He looked around wildly and found the culprit, the boy from District 3, already preparing to throw another spear. In that moment rage and vengeance smothered Kai's other feelings as he charged towards the boy.

"Son of a bitch!" He bellowed; taking the boy by surprise and ruining his aim which made the spear miss Kai by inches.

Seeing his enraged opponent approaching the boy turned and began to run.

Kai however refused to let the boy get away and pulled his last throwing knife and threw it, catching the boy in the back of the leg. He fell with a cry and managed to turn over just as Kai came upon him with his Hunting knife. A red mist descended over Kai's vision as he attacked the boy with his hunting knife.

"That's for Liora, you sick bastard!" He screamed as he attacked him again and again.

It wasn't until the cannon boomed again that Kai realized what he was doing and suddenly stopped. He looked at the mangled corpse below him and let out a horrified gasp as he staggered back. He looked down at his hunting knife, still wet and slick with blood. His hands were covered in it too.

He was horrified at himself. _'What the hell, I've…I've become what I swore I wouldn't…They, they changed me, I can't let this happen, I need to remember why I'm fighting, what I'm doing.'_

Letting out a slow shaky breath he quickly cleaned his knife and hands and did his best to arrange the mangled body of the District 3 boy in a respectful pose, he did the same with Galatea and Liora. He removed the now empty bandoleers of his throwing knives and laid them across each girl; he then bowed his head and closed their eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to all three of them before walking away and allowing the hovercraft to retrieve the bodies. As he walked he also thought to himself. _'I'm sorry to you too Joyic, but we can't keep this alliance, you'll just get killed, I won't be here when…if you return.'_

With that he trudged on.

That night the faces of the three were shown in the sky and Kai knew Joyic would know what happened. The following day he walked for a long time, yet nobody came after him, no traps were sprung. The only times he stopped walking was to rest and have a small meal. His food supplies were still reasonable; he had taken what was left of Galatea and Liora's. All day he was haunted by their deaths and the death he caused. It went against everything he stood for, the kill wasn't clean, he had let his anger get the better of him, worse still, due to the damage he had caused, he had become little better than a butcher. Whenever he closed his eyes he could see their faces, he could see the horror he had committed.

'_I was supposed to stick to my principles; keep my kills clean, respect nature and life…I was supposed to rise above the barbarism of the Capitol.' _He thought forlornly to himself. _'Instead, I fell into it, committed a cruel and vicious kill. They only fired the cannon to make me stop when they felt it was enough. He was dead long before the cannon fired…and I just kept mutilating his corpse. I'm no better now than the monsters, the Careers.'_

Dejectedly he continued onwards until the day ended with no bloodshed. Day 13 dawned and Kai continued to wander aimlessly; still lost in thought. It was then he looked down at his hands and froze in horror. His hands were covered in blood; he hurried to the nearby stream and frantically began trying to wash them clean.

Trying to find some means to rationalize his thoughts he looked upwards and checked the position of the sun in the sky.

'_How have I not been killed yet, I've been zoned out for a very long time, it's noon on day thirteen, unless…nobody else is in here now.'_

He lowered his head again; the blood was still there, he washed his hands more frantically, but the blood wouldn't come off. He was jolted back to reality when the cannon boomed again.

'_Another one dead…but who, and who is left?'_ He wondered, fretting, wondering if his worst fears had been realized.

It was then he looked down at his hands, they were clean.

'_No blood.'_ He realized. _'There never was any, I'm losing my mind. C'mon Kai, focus, you've gotta get through this, you can mourn later, right now, you need to focus and stay alive.'_

Picking himself up he quickly dried his hands and once again began walking, this time with purpose. So it was, at the end of the thirteenth day, Kai had taken cover, protected by his Ghillie suit and perfectly camouflaged. He had positioned himself at the edge of the jungle, near the only way to quickly reach the jungle from the mountains. That night, Joyic's face had shown in the sky. Despite being crippled and given low chances Joyic had done well, making it through thirteen days and coming in fifth place. Also true to form, Liora had come in eighth place, so she and Kai had made it to the top ten; Zinnia's faith in them was well placed. Kai slept uneasily that night, knowing that, in the morning, he would likely see Citlali and Alazne, they were most likely Joyic's killers; he would have to find a way to give them a little surprise as payback.

* * *

End of chapter, it's down to the final four now, who will die next? Hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

Asher Longhand (18) * 13  
Citlali Tate (17)

Chase Winter (17) * 16  
Alazne Barca (14)

District 3 Male (15) *19  
District 3 Female (17) * 10

Caspar Till (14) * 15  
Janela Maxwell (15) *14

District 5 Male (16) * 3  
District 5 Female (14) * 2

District 6 Male (17) * 6  
District 6 Female (17) * 7

Birch Aspen (17) * 12  
Cassia Aspen (17) * 11

District 8 Male (16) * 9  
District 8 Female (17) * 5

District 9 Male (14) * 4  
District 9 Female (18) * 8

Joyic (14) *20  
District 10 Female (15) * 1

Dashiell Williams (18)  
Galatea Elore (14) * 17

Kai Raithebone (16)  
Liora Jade (13) * 18


	14. The Finale Approaches

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 14 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Skoilr: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, never seen or even heard of the movie; yeah, he let his anger get the better of him.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; I know.  
Smiles1998: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, wait and see :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**The Finale Approaches**

The following morning Kai was awoken, just before dawn, by what sounded like an argument. He quickly made sure he was hidden and finally saw the source of the argument. Standing at the entrance to the pass which led to the mountains nearby, Citlali and Alazne stood. They were in the depths of a rather heated argument; both glaring at each other. They were covered in dried blood from Kai's blood bomb, although it had been treated and stopped bleeding, Citlali still had the cut on her cheek from the throwing knife. Her hair had come out of its bun and had been drastically shortened, torn by the look of the ragged ends. Alazne fared slightly better, her hair being at shoulder length, but she was still covered in blood. Some of it Kai noticed, to his horror, was fresh.

'_Joyic's blood.'_ He realized with a start. _'It was Alazne who killed him.'_

He was already forming a plan to try and get revenge when some instinct told him to wait, to see how the argument played out. He wondered why they were arguing, so he cautiously edged closer in order to hear them better. As he edged closer he wondered if Alazne knew how dangerous what she was doing was; goading Citlali was very risky. He already knew from her earlier actions that her jealously and no doubt loss of the others had made her unstable.

Citlali glared at Alazne, the little girl not only had the nerve to question her; but to glare back, as if she was an equal.

'_How dare she, she is nothing without me?' _Citlali fumed to herself; her rage building. _'If it wasn't for me, this bitch would be dead, she should be grateful to me.'_

Citlali shook her head, finally fed up with Alazne.

"Enough, I let you have a kill, and you can have the other guy, but the Coal Brat is mine." She told her.

Alazne shook her head, still scowling. "Yeah, I get to kill the crippled kid and some coward from District 11 who hasn't shown his face throughout the Games."

Citlali snarled. "What do you expect, I'm the leader here, if it wasn't for me you'd be dead by now, I…"

"Some leader." Alazne shot back. "Oh if it wasn't for you of course we would've died by now. Remind me, who led us into that death trap the boy set up, who led Asher, Caspar and Janela to their deaths…" She was furious than ever now and practically screamed the next words. "Who got Chase killed?! It was you, you and your damn _leadership_, you couldn't lead anything, you're too blinded by irrational hatred and jealous for some boy from District 12!"

With that she turned away; still angry, but Citlali was beyond enraged now.

'_That bitch…she, she's gone too far, I…I'll…'_

With a feral scream she drew her knife and launched herself at the younger girl, knocking her to the ground as, in a frenzy, she began to repeatedly stab her with her knife.

Kai watched both horrified and fascinated at the same time. Citlali had fallen prey to the same rage he had a few days ago; and was now killing Alazne in a frightening similar fashion to how Kai had killed the boy from District 3. Unlike Kai however, when the cannon boomed, Citlali did not stop immediately, instead she stabbed Alazne's corpse at least three more times for good measure and then stopped. She stood up, still covered in blood and showed no regret, simply sneered and stalked off north, likely heading for the prairie where Dashiell was hidden, the hovercraft took Alazne's body away and Kai, his mind still racing from what he had seen, slipped back deep into the jungle. He waited for the rest of the day for what he felt would be the inevitable cannon boom. Citlali meanwhile ensured her pack was full with food, water, whatever she would need. She slung it up onto her should and after ensuring the blood that would come out of her clothes and skin did, she readied her sword and knife and made for the prairie. She was determined to hunt down and kill the boy from 11; he may dwarf her in height, but she was certain she was more skilled. She would ensure that it would just be her and the coal brat, then she could finish this and prove her superiority once and for all.

Kai sighed as he stopped; it was nightfall, soon the anthem would be playing and Alazne's face would be shown in the sky. He had stopped in what he felt would be a suitable place to rest and realized a problem, despite his rationing, he was now out of food, although he still had enough water to get him through the next two days and half of the third day from now.

'_Shit, now what do I do?'_ He wondered to himself. _'I could go and try and steal some of Citlali's food while she's chasing Dashiell; but there's likely to be traps. I've tried my luck enough these Games.'_

As he thought that his mind went to the injuries he had sustained; he looked at the leather wrap that covered the bandage around his burned hand and the similar wrap around his left bicep, covering the bandage around the cut Janela's knife had given him. These were his most prominent injuries, although he had accumulated several others. The cannon boomed and Kai tensed and waited; now there were only two left, him and the survivor of Citlali's hunt for Dashiell. Sure enough, not ten minutes later the anthem played and Alazne and Dashiell's faces were shown in the sky.

'_Just me and Citlali now.'_ He realized.

It had come down to the final two.

Day fifteen dawned and Kai, not willing to take risks, kept on the move. The lack of food however created problems for him; while he was able to keep his water intake up. The first gnawing pains of hunger soon came upon him; luckily his District 12 upbringing meant he was more used to it than Citlali would have been if she was stuck without food. However despite what Kai had hoped day fifteen passed with no bloodshed, Citlali had not come looking for him. This worried him; at this rate the Gamemakers would activate traps that would force him out to the grasslands where Citlali was likely waiting for him to come and try and steal food. They would choose to force him into her territory rather than the other way around. After all, despite all he had done, he was still District 12, and she was District 1, two opposite ends of the spectrum. Kai knew he would have to make the first move to supersede both Citlali and the Gamemakers. So he made his way north towards the grasslands. He stopped and took cover on the fringes of the jungle. There he saw Citlali, taking cover behind one of the trees. Despite being a seemingly childish hiding place he couldn't fault her; it was really the only cover available on the grasslands; plus, if he hadn't approached from the direction he had done, he wouldn't have seen it until it was too late. She had spread the food out, left it lying around in a tempting trap. Kai smirked; he had to admit, she was good when she was thinking clearly.

He knew it was time to make his move.

"Citlali!" He called out; she started and looked around wildly, futilely trying to find him. He continued to speak. "It looks like it's just us now…We both know that if neither of us move; then traps will be sprung, likely forcing me out of the jungle."

Citlali scoffed, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Of course they will; I'm the favoured one here."

Kai ignored her arrogance and instead made his offer. "I have a proposition for you; if the Gamemakers will allow us the rest of this day to prepare ourselves, then tomorrow, at noon…I will come out and meet you on the beach, neutral ground. There we can finish this once and for all with a final duel."

There was silence as, for some time, Citlali considered his offer; then finally she replied.

"That sounds like fun, okay Coal Brat." She said finally, "You've got a deal, tomorrow at noon, we'll fight this duel."

She then raised her head and called out to the Gamemakers, knowing they could hear her.

"I don't want any interference, he is to be left alone to prepare himself, he is to fight me at his best."

Satisfied with that Kai slipped back into the jungle, now he had until tomorrow to prepare himself. His problem being he had no food.

Desperate and willing to try anything Kai took a deep breath and waited; he lay still, camouflaged by his Ghillie suit. Soon his prey came into range and with swiftness he struck out with his knife, killing and capturing the snake. He severed the head, the venomous part and then began eating the snake.

'_Hey, not bad.'_ He thought to himself as he ate.

Once finished, relieved that he could still rely on the jungle to provide food, his gaze fell on a nearby Datura plant.

'_Don't have time to make a bomb now, even though there's only one left.'_ He thought quietly.

However then his hand slid into his pocket and he felt something he had forgotten about and smirked.

'_Maybe I do have a use for the Datura after all.'_

With that he got to work, preparing his secret weapon.

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End of chapter, next up is the final battle between Kai and Citlali; hope you enjoy it. Also, hope you enjoyed this chapter, read and review please.

Asher Longhand (18) * 13  
Citlali Tate (17)

Chase Winter (17) * 16  
Alazne Barca (14) * 21

District 3 Male (15) *19  
District 3 Female (17) * 10

Caspar Till (14) * 15  
Janela Maxwell (15) *14

District 5 Male (16) * 3  
District 5 Female (14) * 2

District 6 Male (17) * 6  
District 6 Female (17) * 7

Birch Aspen (17) * 12  
Cassia Aspen (17) * 11

District 8 Male (16) * 9  
District 8 Female (17) * 5

District 9 Male (14) * 4  
District 9 Female (18) * 8

Joyic (14) *20  
District 10 Female (15) * 1

Dashiell Williams (18) *22  
Galatea Elore (14) * 17

Kai Raithebone (16)  
Liora Jade (13) * 18


	15. Final Duel

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Chapter 15 of my Hunger Games story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Skoilr: Very astute of you to realize that, well, the wait is over and soon you'll see just how things will play out.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
Smiles1998: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, you bet, just read on and find out.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Final Duel**

It was day seventeen; the Games had come down to the final two tributes. The atmosphere was tense; Kai Raithebone had challenged Citlali Tate to a duel at noon on this day, determined to finish these Games once and for all. Only one of them would leave the duel alive. Many of the Capitol people were placing bets on Citlali, after all; she had plenty of food and water and was ready to build up her energy for the duel. Kai on the other hand, only had his water to depend on and any animals, mostly snakes, he could catch and eat. Yet there were a number of people betting on Kai too, despite the steep odds. Noon was fast approaching and Citlali already stood on the beach, she held her sword and knife, ready to fight. Glaring at the edge of the jungle which led out onto the beach, waiting for Kai to emerge.

'_Coward probably won't even show up.'_ She thought angrily. _'This whole thing was probably a set-up, just to make me look like an idiot.'_

She strongly felt that to be the case, after all, she saw no sign of movement in the trees ahead of her. Kai however was already present; he was lying, camouflaged by his Ghillie suit, at the edge of the jungle. He had finished the last of his water and eaten a few of the creatures he caught. All his weapons were ready and soon it was time, the announcement was made for noon and he stood up.

Citlali started when she realized where he had been and wondered how long he had been there. She mentally cursed herself for being so careless, he could have easily killed her and she wouldn't have seen it coming. Kai removed his Ghillie suit and stepped out onto the beach, he walked along the sand towards where Citlali stood; she tensed. In his left hand was his hunting knife and some flint, in his right was his last bomb, she knew it was a lethal one, the same kind that killed the other four. Kai stopped a few feet away from Citlali.

"So, finally…" She snarled. "You finally stop hiding and face me, about damn time."

Kai did not respond and instead regarded Citlali's appearance; she was no longer the glamorous District 1 girl who had entered the Games, now she was dishevelled, soaked with sweat and covered in blood. Kai smirked as he remembered how most of the blood had got there and taunted her.

"How did you like my blood bomb Citlali, I made it with you in mind?"

She growled; an almost feral sound. "At least I don't have to rely on petty tricks to win, I'm one of the true jewels of this game, I win on pure talent."

Kai quirked an eyebrow at this; Citlali noted that he hadn't fared much better, he had injuries, he was also soaked in sweat. The locks of silver hair that formed his fringe were plastered to it by the sweat. She suppressed a shudder as he fixed her in his gaze; those lilac eyes were so creepy.

Finally Kai smirked and replied to her comment, taunting her again.

"You don't look much like a jewel now to me. You look more like coal…and I should know."

Citlali shrieked and began to advance, sword and knife raised. Kai however acted immediately and, using the flint, lit the fuse on the bomb, Citlali froze and Kai, taking advantage of her inaction, threw it. Citlali reacted however and threw her knife, it struck the bomb and the sparks released set it off prematurely. The bomb exploded and Kai fell back, hitting the sand with a grunt of pain. Pain lanced up his right hand side and when he looked he saw that the heat had seared away the right sleeve and upper right section of his shirt. Several pieces of shrapnel were embedded in his right arm and the blood oozed from the wounds. The odd angle of his arm told him it was broken. He looked up and saw Citlali smirking, she began to advance again and, in desperation, as he back-pedalled uselessly on the sand, he threw his knife at her. Citlali swung her sword and by pure luck, caught the blade of the knife and deflected it, knocking it out of sight and reach. Kai however had managed to get to his feet and as Citlali advanced, he raised his left hand, clenched in a fist to his mouth. Once it was there Citlali saw he had a blowpipe just before he blew into it and she felt a slight stab hit her exposed sternum.

She reached for the area she had been hit and felt something, she plucked it out and saw what it was, she laughed and threw it aside as she turned to Kai. He had dropped his blowpipe and now stood, his left arm cradling his right.

"A dart?" She scoffed. "You put all your faith in a measly dart; you didn't even hit anything vital. Well, time to finish you."

With that she began to advance towards him; sword raised. Before she could do anything however she suddenly convulsed, dropping the sword. She dropped to her knees, coughing and gagging, she tried to stand but found herself lying on the sand now, her body racked with spasms. Kai knelt down over her and looked at her, his expression serious.

"Did you learn nothing from seeing me fight so far; did you really think it was just a simple dart?" He asked her. "I tipped it with liquid taken from a Datura plant in the jungle. So it was poisonous, when you pulled it out, your body tried to clot the blood from the wound, which in turn, sent the poison through your body more rapidly. Now you're dying, respiratory failure."

He paused; allowing this information to sink in before picking up Citlali's sword, slightly clumsy due to having to use his left hand.

He looked back at her, sadly. "I'm not without mercy, simply give the word…and I'll finish now, no long drawn out painful death, quick and clean."

Citlali gasped for air as she looked up at him and finally, managed to nod. Kai then impaled her with the sword and the cannon boomed a final time.

Kai staggered back, dropping the sword as he sat down on one of the rocks that marked the edge of the beach, he watched Citlali's body get taken away and heard the announcer's voice as it echoed throughout the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, behold, the victor of the seventy-first Hunger Games…from District 12…KAI RAITHEBONE!"

Kai remained silent as he cradled his injured arm; it was over, yet he didn't feel anything, he just felt numb. Finally the hovercraft arrived and lifted him out and he was sedated and welcomed the comforting embrace of sleep. When he felt himself awaken he didn't open his eyes right away. He wasn't ready to face the grim reality of all the deaths yet. He could hear the tapping of heels as he guessed Zinnia was pacing around the room. Finally, unable to ignore it any longer he opened his eyes. Zinnia stopped pacing and smiled, plainly relieved. Aviva sat nearby, a faint smile on her lips.

"Welcome back." She greeted him

Kai slowly sat up, realizing the Capitol had once again worked wonders in treating injuries; however he noticed the scars from the shrapnel wound still on his arm. This confused him; the Capitol could heal just about anything.

Zinnia tutted. "Aviva's intervention; according to her 'a warrior should be proud of their scars'." She explained, prompting a smirk from Aviva.

Kai laughed and agreed with Aviva's definition.

Kai soon learned his rest was only a temporary reprieve as soon afterwards he was out of the hospital, fully dressed and back on stage for his victory ceremony. President Lucrum placed the victors crown on his head and smiled at him, a cold smile that didn't reach his hawk like eyes.

"Congratulations Mr. Raithebone; I may have an interesting proposition for you in the future." He explained. "I do hope you will agree to it, it should be very favourable…to both of us."

With that he stepped away and the celebration continued as normal. Kai however was once again already tired; he just wanted to go home. Finally the day came and he went with Aviva and Zinnia back to the train; he put on his best smile for the crowd that had gathered and did his best to look happy and grateful until on the train and the doors closed; it was only then it finally truly hit him, it was over, he was going home.

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End of chapter, the Games are over, Kai's going home, but he's been changed forever now, also, just what does President Lucrum have planned for him? Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	16. Homecoming

**Hunger Games: Not a Pawn in their Games**

Final chapter of my Hunger Games story, it's short but hopefully still good, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Glad you enjoyed it :)  
Smiles1998: Thanks, hmmm, very observant.  
Skoilr: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; well, her arrogance blinded her to the truth, here is the final chapter, enjoy.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

**Homecoming**

Once the train left the station Kai's shoulders slumped and he walked away, heading to his compartment. Zinnia was concerned but Aviva shook her head.

"Just leave him, he needs some time." She explained. "It's only now fully hitting him what happened, what he's done…"

She trailed off and as Zinnia headed to her compartment. Aviva on the other hand headed to the deserted dining carriage and stood at the window, looking silently out into the night. Kai had collapsed on his bed, exhausted, drained and dismayed; he had drifted off to sleep only to be awoken some time later by horrific nightmares. Without the constant danger to distract him, he was left with the horrific mental scars caused by what he had witnessed and what he had done in the Games. Most of all, his thoughts went to the Aspen siblings, to Liora, Galatea and Joyic, the ones he had failed to protect. He also remembered the boy from District 3, the boy he had killed and mutilated so badly. The gnawing guilt he felt for that. Even if he couldn't see it, the blood would forever stain his hands, he knew that. Unable to get back to the sleep he got up and left his compartment and began walking through the train. He had no set destination in mind and just let his feet take him.

He finally stopped as he entered the dining car and saw Aviva standing at the window. He slowly walked over to her, she tilted her head slightly, an indication she had heard him approach and knew it was him.

"Can't sleep huh?" She queried before sighing. "Get used to it, you're gonna have a lot of sleepless nights."

Kai sighed and nodded in agreement, he guessed that. "How do you cope with it, how do you…stop seeing their faces in your dreams, how do you get back to sleep?"

Aviva laughed mirthlessly.

"I wouldn't know, I've never tried. I've not slept since my Games. I just stay awake until my body shuts down, then I recover and that's me until it happens again."

Kai was shocked by this; he knew the Games affected Aviva deeply, but didn't suspect it to have done so that bad. He cast around for a different subject and his eyes once again fell on the silver ring on her left ring finger. He bit his lip and then made up his mind.

"Who was he?" He asked; gesturing to the ring when she looked confused.

Her expression went blank and then, finally she sighed. "Liam Crafts; a kinder, more noble man never lived…He's dead now."

Kai knew that was all the explanation he was going to get. He left the dining car and decided to try and get back to sleep, but he couldn't forget the look on Aviva's face. It was more than the Games, it was the loss of her family, the death of her fiancée, all of it had made her into the person she was today, had robbed her of peaceful sleep and left her bitter and angry. He also knew that all of it…was the Capitol's fault.

The following morning he awoke; it hadn't been easy but he managed to get back to sleep. He quickly pulled fresh simple clothes on and joined Zinnia and Aviva in the dining car. Neither he nor Aviva mentioned their conversation last night and simply ate breakfast quietly. Finally they arrived in District 12 and left the train. Kai greeted the crowd with the best smile he could manage. It was strange; they had regarded him as nothing, a freak, now suddenly he was the District hero. But his mind was elsewhere; casting his gaze about he saw no sign of Liora's family. He had wanted to see them, talk to them and apologize. He also noticed someone else missing, but at least knew where she was. As soon as he could he left the crowd and headed to his old home. Tomorrow this home would be empty and he would be living in his new home in Victor's Village. He entered and found her sitting at the table. She stood up as he arrived.

"Kai." She said; her voice barely above a whisper.

He smiled. "I'm home mom."

They embraced and Kai finally felt the relief he had been longing to feel for so long; now, for him, it truly was over.

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End of chapter and of story, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


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